


By The Look In Your Eyes

by CK203



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Mentioned Plagg and Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Supportive Adrien
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CK203/pseuds/CK203
Summary: An incident on the night of Hawkmoths defeat leaves Marinette crushed, but she still has Adrien, the one constant in her life who is gently guiding her into happiness, but without Plagg and Tikki, Adrien is left to rebuild Marinette slowly, all the while dealing with his intense feelings of love for the girl.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 30
Kudos: 45





	1. The Incident

Marinette sighed, leaning back on the wooden bench, damp and cold with the frost and dew of the cold winter's night. In front of her lay a brass statue, one that depicted her and her partner in a perpetual embrace, Cat Noir holding Ladybug as her face buried into his neck, hands against his chest while his arms wrapped around her back. 

_ It was a memorial. _

The Heroes Park, it showed Cat Noir and Ladybug throughout their journey, all the way from the first sightings of the pair, to the last known picture. It was all shown, depicted in perfect memoriam. The statues themselves were made from high quality brass to be sure that they didn’t rust in the weather conditions. 

Her eyes moved down to the plaque on the base of the statue, a paragraph written with the title properly named “The end”

_ “Cat Noir and Ladybug were last seen at the base of the Eiffel Tower, hugging each other before they charged into their final battle with Hawk Moth. The battle supposedly lasted almost three hours, at the three hour mark a large purple light engulfed all of Paris. A few seconds later the light disappeared and so did our heroes, never to be seen again. It is suspected that they perished at the end of the battle, ending Hawk Moth's reign of terror as well. These statues commemorate their ultimate sacrifice, giving up their lives in order to save Paris from a shadow of darkness. So Cat Noir and Ladybug, if you somehow read this from the clouds, know that all of Paris thanks you” _

Marinette let out a long sigh, feeling her eyes sting as they threatened her with the pain of tears, she clasped her eyes shut, desperately trying to fight them off. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, this park was only a reminder, the reminder that her previous life was gone, Tikki was gone, Plagg was gone and Cat Noir was gone. 

“I was scared when I woke up and you weren’t in bed” Adrien stated, sitting down next to Marinette carefully, she sniffled a bit, looking down towards the left where a few splotches of grass were dying. 

“I didn’t think that I would wake you up” She whispered, moving her eyes to Adriens slippers, the felt wet from the pavement he had walked on.

“You did” he whispered back, trying to work out the words that he would say next “Marinette, I…” He sighed, turning to look at her “I know you’ve gone through more than anyone should, and if I could, I would have done it for you” he murmured “I thought that maybe you would have talked with me about it, but you still haven't” he said worriedly, looking at her with pained eyes “I know I can only understand the pain your going through a little bit, heck I probably can't even understand it at all, but it might really help to talk to anyone” he suggested hopefully, looking at her slightly red and exhausted eyes “If you don't feel comfortable talking to me then that’s fine, it doesn’t have to be me, it can be anyone, Alya, Nino, I’m sure Chloe would be more than happy to talk to you” he added, hoping to see her beautiful smile once again, it had been caged away for months on end now. Sadly, no such thing happened, her dull frown persisted, a tinge of anger and fury hidden away behind her eyes. Adrien sighed, he was essentially touching nerves at this point, but he needed to press on. “What about a therapist?” he suggested tiredly and desperately “You don’t need to go alone if you don't want to, I can come with you” he proposed “Or you can go alone if you want” he said, backtracking a little, still speaking with a desperation lined voice “But I think it really may be able to help” he said, feeling his eyes prick with the starts of tears.

_ No response came. _

Adrien turned and found Marinette looking at the ground, he still wasn’t able to get past her thick shield of defenses, leaving him in the dark. He hated it, he hated that she lost so much and steadily lost more each day, all he was able to do was give her a shoulder to lean on and arms to hold her while she silently cried. There was one last thing he did give her, that was a safe place to stay, a place where she could know with certainty that she was going to be alright. He turned to Marinette once again, not sure what to say next, there was the girl, he could still remember that night vividly, the night she lost everything. With one last large exhale he spoke once again.

“Let’s get you home” He sighed, standing up and gathering the girl into his arms. She didn’t protest, deciding to rather curl up slightly as he picked her up, nuzzling into the wool of his overcoat. He carried her bridal style through the empty streets, upset that he had failed to reach her once again, instead he was only able to throw ideas out and hoped one wiggled its way into her mind. 

He walked into their apartment building, entering the elevator and moving to the highest floor. He nudged the door open with a knee, pressing the flat knob down to open the unlocked door. Marinette was peacefully pressed up against his chest, trying to bury herself in the intense warmth of Adrien, she felt Adrien fall onto their bed, lying down and pulling the ruffled covers over both of them.

Marinette opened her eyes, looking up to Adrien, her heart throbbed with love and passion, so she acted as quickly as she could, she looked up at Adrien and started to move closer to his perfect face, leaning in towards his lips. For one single moment Adrien saw the fire ignite in her eyes, desperately trying to break out as she began to close the last few inches. Adrien followed her movements and leaned in with her, placing a gentle hand on the back of her neck, wanting to feel the sensation of closeness he desperately craved with Marinette. Then, the fire disappeared, she stopped leaning in and looked down, avoiding his gaze as she idly looked at his shirt. In a single moment the fire that was building had burnt out, disappearing all together. 

“I’m sorry” Marinette whispered, beginning to try and move back to their original positions. 

“No” Adrien replied, moving the final few inches to put their foreheads together “Don’t be sorry” he begged, feeling her gentle and shaky breath against his cheeks “Please” he begged, begging her to make the final move to kiss him. Marinette was hesitant at first, looking at him with shaky eyes, vulnerable and exhausted, pained with the threat of tears, all of it rolled into one look. Her whole body was threatening to crumble on top of Adrien, but with one last push, she mashed their lips together. Adrien could feel the tears fall from her closed eyes, rolling off her skin and falling onto their conjoined cheeks, but the kiss was passionate, loving, caring and exhausted wrapped up all in one emotion filled experience. Their kiss ended as Marinette fell into gentle sobs, grabbing onto his shirt tightly as their lips moved apart. Adrien hugged her tightly as she cried, crying into his shirt as Adrien desperately wanted to do anything to help her, once again she was losing herself, losing the amazing aspects of her personality and he could only watch as it happened. “Shhhhh” he cooed, gently holding her head “It’s alright...  _ you’re  _ alright” he whispered, gently rubbing her back. 

“I’m sorry” she whimpered, her voice thick and somber as she crumbled onto his chest. Adrien squeezed her tightly, taking a few deep breaths before he spoke again. 

“Hey” he called, a soft and caring tone “Can you look at me?” he requested, looking at the top of her head. Her soft crying began to simmer out, but she didn’t lift her head, still trying to gain the composure she needed. Adrien put a finger under her chin, lifting up her head gently to look him in the eyes. He met her wet eyes, a few stray tears falling off her cheeks, but he didn’t care, right now he was simply staring at the girl he loved “There is  _ nothing  _ to be sorry about” he stated, looking into her deep blue eyes passionately “Absolutely nothing” he reassured, looking at her with love clad eyes. Marinette moved up a little, coming up a little closer to his face. Currently Adrien considered himself the leading expert in “Marinette body language”, so it came easy to him to know that she was getting ready to say something. 

“I feel like a burden” she mumbled, refusing to look into his eyes “I moved in with you, I sleep in your bed with you because I have nightmares otherwise, you have to hold me at night because when you dont I still have nightmares, I never leave your apartment and barely do anything the whole day” she deadpanned, her voice still quiet and low “I’m the definition of a burden” she spoke in muted tones “and I just kissed you” she whispered, almost as if she took advantage of Adrien.

“I hate that you think that” he stated sadly, still trying to gain her eye contact “You’re not a burden,  _ I _ enjoy having you sleeping next to me and  _ I _ enjoy holding you at night, and this is not  _ my  _ apartment, this is  _ our  _ apartment” he said, gently squeezing her “You are not a burden… You are nowhere close to being a burden” he stated, once again moving her head to look him in the eyes “I need you to know that” he said, hugging her tightly. 

“T-thank you” she whispered in response, nuzzling into his neck slightly. 

“Get some sleep” He requested, pressing his lips against her forehead gently. Marinette leaned into his gentle kiss, enjoying the closeness Adrien was proposing, once he separated, Marinette slumped down onto his chest, using him as a pillow. Adrien swore for a moment that he saw a small and content smile form on her face, signifying her mind at ease for once in months. Wether or not her mind was at ease, his definitely wasn’t, thus why he didn’t sleep yet, there was a certain night on his mind, one where Marinette lost everything.

_ Memory _

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Adrien called out, wearing both the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous. He was looking over to the limp and tired Marinette that lied against a wall, trying to keep her eyes open for a few more moments. The ominous purple light disappeared from above them, all the fire and smoke disappeared. Adrien looked at Marinette as her eyes fully shut, falling to sleep from her exhaustion and wounds, on the other hand, his father was in the fetal position, looking at the shattered miraculous before him, the butterfly miraculous in a million literal pieces. Adrien went to Marinette first, deciding to make sure she was ok, he picked her up gently, making sure to keep her cradled safely, her head falling into the crook of his neck. 

“Kitty” she whispered, her voice tiny and inaudible. 

“Don't worry, you’re ok Princess” he murmured, landing on the roof of a building and crumpling down onto his back, exhaustion overcoming him along with the inability to see with the tears in his eyes. The tears were purely for Marinette, his amazing classmate that he had fallen for on both sides of the mask. He felt her breathing steady out, her breathing turning shallow as she fell into sleep. Adrien smiled, keeping his transformation up just in case, he took one last look at Marinette, vastly different as an eighteen year old, but yet so similar to her fifteen year old self. With that he looked over Paris, a red sunset beginning to form at the horizon. 

Adrien wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, but when he woke up Marinette was looking at him with a slight bit of confusion, but remaining close for the warmth he provided. 

“C-cat?” she asked, looking at him through slightly slitted eyes. 

“It’s me princess” he whispered “We did it” he added quietly, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. His eyes drifted down to her lips, perfectly plump lips, they were chapped and cracked from the dry air, but they were still amazingly perfect. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, looking at her passionately. 

“P-p-please” She whispered, looking at her kitten donned in a weird combination of their two suits. Adrien smiled and leaned in, connecting their lips, it was simply amazing, he immediately knew that his new favorite flavor was strawberry, the taste of the lip balm that was clinging on his own mouth. Once they separated they looked around and noticed that the streets were filled with people, it looked like times square on new years rather than a Saturday night. 

“It’s a celebration” he whispered

_ Current day _

Adrien opened his eyes and noted the sun beginning to peak out over the horizon, Marinette was peacefully asleep in his arms, breathing slowly and quietly against his shirt. She somehow managed to take one of his arms and held it against her chest, leaning her head against his bicep. He smiled and hugged her lightly, moving her to the side of their bed, regretfully taking her off of his lap. 

“mmmfm” Marinette hummed, slightly stirring from her sleep. 

“Keep sleeping princess” he whispered, gently kissing her forehead “I’ll be right back” he added, gently getting out of the bed before pulling the blanket over Marinette again. He could already tell that today would be one of her good days, she would still be in the apartment most of the day, but she’d be more sociable and definitely much happier around Adrien. All in all it would be like having a little bit of Marinette back for a day. He threw on his large overcoat, covering his plaid pajamas as his coat hung down all the way past his knees. He took his keys and walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind him to make sure that if Marinette woke up she would feel safer knowing the door was locked. He let out a blissful sigh and walked onto the street, his mind resuming the memory he had left. 

_ Memory _

“D-do you want to know who I am?” Adrien asked, gently rubbing circles on Marinette's back. 

“Y-y-yes” she said shakily, taking a pause before speaking again “But not here” she whispered, looking up at Cat Noir. “Can you find me?” She asked carefully “under the Eiffel tower in twenty minutes” she requested. Adrien smiled, looking at her with a smirk, he lowered down and kissed her forehead. 

“I cant wait” he whispered, standing up and lifting her up along with him “I will await you with eager eyes my lady” he whispered, kissing her head one last time before he ran off the building. He would be under the Eiffel tower in a few moments awaiting Marinette eagerly. 

_ Current day _

Adrien walked on the street, still baron from the early morning cold, but there were a few sporadic cars and a few businesses open. He jogged across the street and peered into a building that seemed like the one he was looking for, the only problem was that all the lights were turned off. 

“Dang it” Adrien hissed, looking at the dark building. He let out a sigh, this was the closest bakery and frankly he wasn’t too keen on staying out for much longer.

“Oh, I’m sorry we open in an hour” A voice called behind him, Adrien turned around by surprise, met with a young girl around his age. 

“Sorry, I must’ve read the hours wrong” he said sheepishly, scratching his neck awkwardly. 

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to fix that” The girl spoke “Those are our summer hours” she explained with a shrug, then something seemed to click in her mind “Adrien Agreste right?” she questioned in a friendly manner. 

“Yeah that’s me” He said, hoping that she would just nod and let him go. 

“So, what does Adrien Agreste need from my bakery?” She asked, putting a hand on her hip. Adrien smirked, it reminded him of someone he knew once, someone who was going through a serious rutt at the moment. 

“My… roommate” he said, deciding that was all he wanted to divulge to a stranger “They’ve been upset, so I wanted to try and cheer them up today” he said, thinking about an adorable and sleeping Marinette who he really wanted to be cuddling right now. 

“Aww that’s sweet” She cooed, placing a hand over her chest “Come on, I’ll make an exception for you” she said, walking up to the door and unlocking the door. 

“That’s really unnecessary” Adrien stated, praying that she would insist so he could cheer Marinette up. 

“Come on, it’s no trouble” she said, gesturing for him to come inside. Adrien smirked and walked in, closing the door behind him, the lights turned on, revealing a small and quaint bakery that reminded him of the Dupain-Chengs.

_ Memory _

Adrien was standing behind the Eiffel Tower, avoiding the security lines and numerous tourists waiting in line, instead he looked at the rear, his heartbeat freaking out on him. He was repeatedly rubbing his hands against his face as multiple questions ran through his head.

Would Marinette know it was him?

Would it take her a second?

Would she see it instantly?

Would they kiss?

Did he brush his teeth that day?

He did a quick check and found that he had in fact brushed his teeth that day, but a mint definitely wouldn’t hurt. He began patting himself down, hoping and praying that Plagg had somehow put a mint on him in preparation, that’s when he noticed that Plagg wasn’t in his pocket, but he shook it off, they just defeated Hawkmoth, his father, which meant that Plagg was likely in a camembert coma by now. 

“Adrien?” Marinette’s voice asked, he turned and felt like he was in a movie, he heard the music playing from all the celebrations as he looked at Marinette, she was standing there happily with a hopeful look on her face. “What are you doing?” she asked over the music, having to yell a bit. 

“Looking for a mint!” he called back happily, flashing his shiny white teeth at Marinette. 

“Why?!” She asked, laughing slightly over the music that would give them hearing problems later in life. They both heard the song playing for a moment, listening to the lyrics that were serenading them.

_ And then it happened _

_ It took me by surprise _

_ I knew that you felt it too _

_ By the look in your eyes _

“Just in case!” He said, walking up to her with a smirk “I was waiting for so-” he was cut off by a persistent and nagging ringing, one that Marinette went to silence, until she got a confused look on her face. She answered the phone to Adriens surprise, but she clearly seemed unnerved, she listened to the call and stiffed, all Adrien could think about was.

_ Something is wrong. _

_ Current day.  _

“So, what can I get you for you and your roommate?” The girl asked, a smile present on her face. 

“Nothing too big, I just want to give them a small surprise” he said with a smirk. ‘

“Ah, I have the perfect thing for you” She said happily, walking behind the counter, she took out a small brown bag, she placed two very large muffins into the bag with a smirk “Trust me, people love these, this should make anyone happy in the morning” she said, handing him the bag. 

“Thank you so much” He said happily, taking the bag into his grasp “What do I owe you?” he asked, pulling out his wallet. The girl waved him off, shaking her head slightly with a smile. 

“I have to throw them out anyway” she said with a small shrug “Plus, now I got rid of them instead of having to waste them” she added. Adrien smiled for a few moments, glad that he ran into someone so nice instead of someone who would have told him to scram.

“Thank you…” He said, waiting for her to say her name. 

“Sarah” she said, extending a hand. 

“Thank you Sarah” he said, shaking her hand lightly before beginning to walk out the store. 

“Feel free to stop by again” She said, waving him off. She pulled out her phone as she heard the door shut, letting out a flurry of excited shrieks.

**Sarah- Adrien Agreste just came into my bakery!**

_ Memory _

Marinette’s face was shocked, her mouth was open and her eyes were watery, he mumbled a few things and moved her eyes to Adrien. She didn’t say anything, but she quickly ran off, and Adrien could only pursue, knowing something had happened. What neither of them knew was that millions of people were out partying the end of Hawkmoth that night, leaving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of houses and apartments that were completely empty, meaning that burglaries were rampant. 

Marinette was running quickly, but Adrien used his longer legs to quickly catch up. 

“Slow down Marinette!” He requested, breathing hard. She didn’t listen, and all he could see now were the tears on her eyes that she was desperately trying to blink away. Adrien quickly grabbed her by the waist and stopped all their momentum, almost toppling over each other, but saving Marinette from getting run over by a car. “Slow down!” He hissed, grabbing her shoulders and holding her steady, looking directly into her eyes “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, wiping away a few stray tears with the pads of his thumb. 

“P… bake…. Now!” She said, trying to work out her words 

“You need to get to your parents bakery?” he asked, looking at her with an urgency that she was thankful for. Marinette could only nod with the lump that was in her throat, but then Adrien took her hand and they were running once again, there it was, Marinette’s parents bakery. But there was one big difference. 

_ Police cars. _

Everywhere, there were probably ten marked police cars along with another ten stark black sedans with hidden lights, unmarked police cars. They all gathered around the bakery, numerous police officers looking solemn as they walked in and out of the small opening of the bakery. Adrien's mouth hung open, a similar expression on Marinette's face, somewhere along the building both Alya and Nino tried to suppress sobs, making it seem even worse for Marinette. She pulled Adrien, more so Adrien let himself be pulled since he was still clinging onto her wrist, but he wished he could freeze time, wished he could turn back time and stopped whatever terrible thing had happened. Adrien walked carefully, praying that Sabine and Tom were both fine and this was going to be a story they talked about as a close call. They passed the police cars and onto the sidewalk in front of the bakery, then they saw it.

_ Two Body Bags. _


	2. Love You

Adrien smiled as he closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it as well, he carefully walked into their bedroom and found Marinette peacefully sleeping. He smirked and climbed back into bed, leaving the muffins on the nightstand. He gently slipped under the covers and resumed his hold on Marinette, waiting for her to peacefully wake up. Soon enough her eyes fluttered open slightly and Adrien was met with his favorite sight, Marinette’s newly opened eyes, eyes that were completely unburdened and free. She focused on him and for a second Adrien swore that her eyes looked at him lovingly, that was until everything flooded back into her head, all the memories and pain stuffed back into her head, her eyes returning to their sad and exhausted tone. Today, however, was a good day, she had a small smile on her face as she pushed her nose into Adriens chest. 

“You smell nice” she whispered, deeply inhaling the scent that brought a large lump of sadness to her voice. Adrien smiled slightly, deciding to reply a few moments after.

“Come on, I got you something” He whispered, trying to get her out of bed. On the other hand, Marinette wasn’t too excited about getting out of bed.

“A few more minutes?” she asked softly, gently grasping his shirt to prevent him from leaving her just yet. 

“Alright” he said, moving one of his hands to rub her back “but not too much longer” he stated, drawing soothing patterns on her back. Marinette pushed her face against his chest, loving the sensation of having Adrien holding her. She looked up at him, a small smile present on his face, he looked like he was in pure bliss, but looked like he knew it was only temporary, as if any moment could ruin their embrace, except it looked like more than that, it looked like he was scared that a single noise would ruing the day. 

_ He was extremely worried about her.  _

She felt terrible, he was worried all the time and she saw it, worried about her in all hours of the day.

“I… I know it’s hard” she whispered, trying to clasp her eyes shut to stop tears “N-not knowing how I’m feeling and o-only being able to try and help, only to be met with silence” she said, trying not to open her eyes in fear of his reactions “I’m sorry I got dumped onto you” she whimpered, suppressing the tears with her tightly clasped eyes, finally she opened her eyes, looking up at Adrien with wet eyes full of tears.

“Is that what you think?” Adrien asked with shock “That you got dumped onto me?” he asked. Marinette hid her face in his chest again, she wished she hadn’t said anything, just enjoyed the peaceful bliss that she had a few moments ago. “Look at me Marinette” he requested, placing a finger under her chin, lifting her to face him. “You did not get dumped onto me” he stated passionately “I had to fight Alya tooth and nail so that you would move in with me instead of them, you may not have seen it, but we were literally fighting over who you would move in with” he stated with a small laugh “and I knew that I wasn’t going to let you move anywhere else because I wanted to be the one helping you, I wanted to be the one holding you when you cried, I wanted to be there for you every single second of the day every day, 365 days a year” he said with a smile “And I still want that” he said, leaning in so their foreheads touched “I want to be with you every minute of every day Marinette” he whispered, his breath warming her face. Marinette felt her heart swell, he had said so much and it could mean everything and anything, so now she was so unsure for a moment. “I love you Marinette” he said, giving her nose a gentle kiss. Marinette found herself with a genuine smile, then of course her brain tried to do everything in its power to stop the happiness she was feeling, but she wasn’t going to let that happen. If nothing else, she wanted to be happy for this one moment, one moment of happiness in her screwed up life. She leaned in and gently kissed his bottom lip, feeling her heart flutter as much as her mind would allow.

Adrien smiled as he felt her gentle lips caress his carefully, she was extremely gentle with her kiss, making sure she didn’t come off too forceful, but all Adrien knew right then was one thing, it was one thing that had been lingering on his mind for a very long time now. 

_ Today was a good day. _

_ Memory _

Marinette's breath shook in horror, her eyes looking at the two body bags were neatly placed next to each other, Adrien immediately yanked her backwards, burying her head in his chest and turning away from the building. He closed his eyes tightly, he knew who lined those body bags, he knew who the contents were. He just wished he was imagining it, that he had been caught in an elaborate daydreaming sequence that happened when he became tired with one of his classes. Instead he just felt Marinette trying to shove away from him, trying to shove away from his protective embrace, no matter how comfortable it felt. 

“It’s not worth it Marinette” he stated, looking back at the horrible situation, one that had seemingly only gotten worse after he turned around. 

“Let me go!” She hissed, trying to get out of his grasp “Let me go!” She repeated, trying to get out from his strong arms. His entire body told him not to do it, to keep her in his grasp and run away, pretend like the whole thing didn’t happen and live out their life together, but for some reason his mind disobeyed, sending the signal to release Marinette. She bolted around him and into the building, looking over the scene with horror in her eyes, she choked a few words out as everyone looked at her, silent and watching.

The two bags were obviously not in their original spot, but that didn’t mean the bottom was safe, it most definitely wasn’t, but something told Adrien that their upper living area was one thousand percent worse than the actual bakery. When Marinette looked to the stairs, moving to look at what scene was held in their home, a place she thought was safe... that was when Adrien jumped in, he pulled her away, looking at her beggingly as he pulled her out of the building and into a street that smelled of death.

“It’s not worth it” he muttered. 

_ Current day. _

Adrien shuttered a little, remembering that night once again, Marinette was peacefully sitting in Adriens lap, leaning her head against his chest as she pulled apart the bottom of the muffin carefully. 

“Eating the bottom first?” Adrien asked with a smirk, gently tickling her clothed leg with gentle and soft fingers. 

“This is the proper way to eat it” she says teasingly “You always eat the top last because its the part that’s covered in sugar” she said with a smirk. Adrien smiled, giving her leg a gentle squeeze, he would make sure to thank Sarah properly, especially since it had definitely cheered Marinette up. The girl looked up to Adrien with a smile “I forgot to say it” She whispered, looking up at Adrien. 

“What?” He asked quizzically, raising an eyebrow at the girl. 

“I love you too” She stated, looking up at him. 

“I know” he whispered, planting a kiss on the top of her head. 

_ Memory. _

After numerous hours of holding Marinette in his arms, trying to tame her crying form in any way possible, it was close to three or four in the morning. 

“I’m very sorry for your loss” Officer Raincomprix said saddly, knowing exactly how gruesome of a murder was in that building “I’ll call you right when I have more information” he said, gently patting her shoulder before walking off back to the building. Adrien gently rubbed her back, she was no longer crying, but she was still and stiff in his arms, using his chest as a pillow. Alya and Nino were completely silent beside them, both pale and white. 

“Do you want to come home with me?” he asked quietly, not sure whether she wanted to stay with him or Alya or if she had any family to stay with. He felt her silent nod against his chest, turning over to Alya he spoke quietly, hoping Marinette wouldn’t hear. 

“I’ll take her back to my house so she can get some sleep” He whispered, looking at the pale and tired Alya, matched perfectly with Nino. 

“We’re coming with” Nino said flatly, none of them wanted to leave Marinette, not now, not ever. Adrien nodded slightly and picked Marinette up, the small girl gently nuzzling into his chest as she tried to disappear into the warmth he provided, they all walked towards his house while Adrien's thoughts drifted to his father. He hadn’t been arrested, but he knew that he also wasn’t at home, if he was, Adrien would’ve gotten a message asking his whereabouts. Marinette mumbled some unintelligible words into his chest as her mind forcefully slipped her into sleep to avoid the pain of that day. And for the first time in a very long time, Adrien felt tears start to form in his eyes.

_ Current day. _

Adrien walked in front of a door and knocked a few times, he was dressed nicely, not formal, but casual and good looking. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, the door was unmoved, but he heard the excited footsteps run up to it quickly, then it burst open to reveal Alya who was beaming, only to have her face flatten a moment later.

“No Marinette?” she asked sadly. 

“No” he responded with a small exhale “Sorry” he said breathily. Alya nodded and walked away a little slumped, her head turned down to her feet like a small toddler who had just gotten yelled at. Nino looked towards him and gave him a small expression, showing that he too was upset with the absence of Marinette. 

“Still not ready?” he asked, giving Alya a few pats on the back. 

“Yep” Adrien replied, closing the door behind him “I tried guys” he sighed, giving them both an apologetic look. 

“It’s alright man” Nino responded “We were just really hopeful to see her again, I mean it’s been a year since we’ve seen her” he said, moving back to the pot of boiling water on their stove.

“I know, but she barely goes outside guys” Adrien yelped “the only time she goes out is at three in the morning when she’s basically having a panic attack” he explained, taking a seat on the couch. 

“How’s she doing?” Alya asked quietly, sitting in front of Adrien on a loveseat.

“She’s doing good” he replied with a nod “I still haven’t gotten her to open up to me or talk about it” he scratched his scalp a little “all I have right now is a strewn together line of short sentences about not feeling great and just wanting to go to bed” he groaned “but today was one of her good days, and I’m hoping I can make the rest of the week great for her” he said hopefully. Alya nodded before a question popped into her head.

“Is she comfortable?” Alya asked, obviously a little upset that she was living with Adrien rather than her and Nino.

“Very” Adrien replied, having answered the questions hundreds of times already “I try and spoil her without her knowing it, whether it be in extremely expensive hair products or some super high quality, yet inconspicuous, clothes” he said happily “She really likes wearing my sweatshirts” he added, seeing a small smile form on Alya’s face “That and my sweatpants, she likes to wear them together” he added. 

“They smell like you” Alya suggested, a smile present on her face “it was something Marinette talked to me about when she first moved in with you… one of her good days... she said that you lent her one of your sweatshirts because she didn’t have any, and she said that she ended up wearing it solely because it smelt like you” she said, her smile changing to a smirk “I may not agree with her living with you instead of us, but you make her feel safe” she added, leaning back in her seat.

“How are you two?” Nino asked, sitting next to Alya. 

“Me and Marinette?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah, are you and her together?” He questioned “I mean romantically?” he clarified. Adrien thought about it for a few moments, thinking about the hundreds of kisses they shared, along with their newly shared “I love you” that had happened that morning. 

“We dont have a label on it yet” he stated, rubbing his jaw “We kiss and she sleeps in my arms every night, but we don't really label it… she’s happy with what we have though, so in turn that makes me the happiest man alive” he explained happily. Nino and Alya smiled a bit before they asked one more question. 

“Do you have the pictures?” Alya asked happily.

“Always” Adrien responded. That had started once Marinette stopped going out, they instead asked Adrien to take pictures of her so that they knew she was ok. He took out his phone and opened his pictures before standing up and handing it to Alya. They scrolled through the pictures of Marinette, holding a coffee mug up to her lips, wearing Adriens oversized clothes, sleeping on the couch and finally buttering an english muffin in the morning. Alya smirked, she wasn’t good, but she at least seemed content and even smiled in one of the pictures. 

“She looks thinner” she breathed, looking at the girl with tears in her eyes.

“She is” Adrien murmured “I try and get her to eat more, but like always, some days are harder than the others.

“Have you figured out why she doesn’t go outside anymore?” Alya asked quietly, trying to choke back the sobs that were heavily present in her throat.

“I’m not sure” Adrien sighed “It was probably the funeral, after that night I think her mind just fully dumped it on her, like somewhere it just told her that they were actually gone” he suggested dolefully. 

“What about her phone?” Nino asked, referring to her perpetually shut down cell phone. Adrien simply shook his head, the truth was, she probably threw it out long ago. The couple sighed before Alya spoke up. 

“Come on lets eat” 

_ Memory. _

Marinette was asleep in his arms by the time they all entered his house, everyone was exhausted, including Adrien, but he wouldn’t be sleeping that night. Instead he would be up the entire night, making sure that Marinette was as safe as possible. The walk to his room was short, from there he gently placed Marinette in his bed, allowing Alya and Nino to sleep on his couch.

“Get some sleep guys, I’m just gonna take a shower” he stated, being sure not to wake Marinette up. He walked into the bathroom and into his shower, turning it on he stepped under the steaming water, allowing it to pelt his bare skin. For the entire time in the shower he was left to think about what could have possibly happened to Tom and Sabine. They were dead, but none of the officers had told them how they were murdered or who had done it.

_ And it frankly pissed him off. _

Marinette was left without any answers, nowhere to go and no idea what to do, but Adrien would be there to help her, no matter what.

In a few moments he stepped back out of the bathroom, looking around for the one thing that had been consistently missing that night.

“Plagg?” he whispered, looking around for his small black kwami who would definitely be able to give him a small amount of advice for this situation “Plagg?!” he hissed, looking around for his kwami. He quietly searched around his room for the little cat, and that’s when he noticed that his finger felt the tiniest bit lighter. He looked towards his ring finger and found his ring missing, that definitely wasn’t good, no it was definitely worse than bad too.

_ It was terrifying.  _

He quickly ran to his computer desk where there was a small camembert tin, Plagg usually hid in it the few times that someone was actually in his room. He popped the tin and instead of being met with tired and shiny green eyes, he was met with one neatly folded up piece of paper. His heart dropped as he pulled it out, gently unfolding it with terrifyingly shaky hands. His eyes moved towards the words written as he started to read. 

_ Dear Adrien _

_ We had a pretty good run, I have to say that. We had a lot of fun in our few years together and I can definitely say that you were probably the best Cat Noir I had ever been with. I wish I had more time, and usually I do, usually I would get an extra year with you, but this time is different. I know all of what i'm saying is sudden, but Kwami can sense the future, not see it, but sense it. Long story short, somethings going to happen, something terrible, something is going to happen to Marinette, I can sense that much. Physically she’ll be ok, but mentally… I’m not sure. By the time you’ve read this note, it’s already happened… I’m sorry, but I couldn’t have you interfering with history and fate, so I needed to make sure that no one messed with fate. Trust me I’ve seen it happen before and it’s not pretty, so this needed to happen. The reason I have to go is because Tikki is going to interfere, and I can't let that happen, so we’ll be gone, but we’ll be gone forever. The miraculous box will be gone as well, meaning that for the time being, kwamis will no longer exist.  _

_ I’m really sorry about this, I wish I could change it all, let you and Marinette be the happy kids who get to explore each other and their budding new relationship without all the sadness and worry, I wish I could be there to watch you two, but it had to be this way.  _

_ There were no other options. _

_ Take care of Marinette for us, and trust me when I say this.  _

_ She loves you so much. _

_ -Plagg _

Adrien felt his blood boil, he folded the paper up and shoved it in his pocket angrily, Plagg and Tikki had let this happen for some stupid reason or the other. 

They had let her parents die!

Left her alone and depressed with no one to fall back on. 

_ No. _

_ That wasn’t right.  _

_ Marinette would always have him to lean on. _

Suddenly a small and pained voice interrupted his fury, a tiny voice that he had come to love in more than one way.

“Adrien?” Marinette whispered, her voice heavy and solemn. 

“Hey, what are you doing up?” he asked softly, a caring and sweet tone on his voice. He walked over and knelt down in front of her. He brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear and gave her a smile, hoping he’d ease some of the tension in her body. 

“I had a nightmare” she whimpered, looking at him as her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, I’m sorry” he whispered, gently rubbing his thumb on her cheek “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly, gently moving his hand from her soft and silky skin into her hair. He wanted to die right when he saw her eyes fill with tears, he felt that he knew the extent of her pain purely by the look in her eyes. 

“Can… can you…” she choked on her words as she looked at him, then she let out a sob, heavy and large tears dropping from her eyes as she cried. Adrien was quick, jumping under the covers with her and holding her against his chest, muffling her sobs and soothingly holding her in his arms.

“Shhhh” he cooed “It’s ok… you’re safe” he whispered, cradling her small body against him. Her tears still flowed, but she looked up at him, worried hues in her eyes. 

“What do I do now?” she asked “Where do I live, how do I pay for their funeral, where do I bury them?” she whimpered “How do i get my stuff?” she asked, her eyes full of tears as she let out a few sparse sobs. Adrien held her tightly, holding her small body flush against his own. 

“I’m not sure Marinette, but I’m sure we can figure it all out” he said, gently rubbing her back “get some sleep, I’ll stay right here the whole night” he stated giving her another smile. Marinette breathed in deeply and let it out, she felt numb, like if she didn’t talk her mind would simply forget that she was alive, and instead she would feel like she was floating above her body. “And Marinette” Adrien whispered, placing his nose into her hair “I promise, it’ll all get easier” he murmured, waiting until her breath swallowed and her body relaxed. Yet once again, he stayed up, making sure Marinette was safe. 

**I’m not going to lie, I hate this chapter, to me it feels clunky and terrible and I honestly just hate it. But I really wanted to give you all a follow up to the first chapter, so I’m sorry, I polished this as good as I could, but honestly I feel like I made it worse. Feel free to give some constructive criticism for my next chapter :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**First and foremost I would like to thank Matri,** [ **Shadowknight763** ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowknight763/pseuds/Shadowknight763) **,** [ **Backyardbob01** ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Backyardbob01/pseuds/Backyardbob01) **and especially** [ **CoffeeComicsGalore** ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeComicsGalore/pseuds/CoffeeComicsGalore) **. They all gave me some good suggestions on how to advance this story for the ease of the reader, for now on the memories will be fully italicized for ease of understanding. If I missed anyone who suggested something, I’m sorry. Now, onto the story.**

Marinette sat with her legs crossed, sitting on the middle of the couch as a few peaceful noises played on their stereo. Adrien had read something about meditation and begged her to try it, so she decided that she would. Her mind drifted to the first week after her parents had died, it was the easiest week, something always had to be done, checks had to be written and other checks had to be cashed, the funeral had to be arranged and the caskets had to be picked out, she needed to call the life insurance company along with all their family and friends, it all had to be done and she had so little time to arrange it, especially since she needed to get them buried before the ground frosted over. Adrien had been a big help, getting in touch with the majority of her family and handling the insurance company for her, but the moment it ended, her world fell apart, more so hours before that. The moment she woke up, realizing that her parents were gone and there was absolutely nothing left to do, all the life insurance and home insurance had been collected, neatly placed into a bank account. All the family was on their way, her friends were doing the same, their tombstones were ready and approved and their grave pits had been dug. 

_ There was nothing left.  _

Marinette could easily remember that feeling, mostly because she felt it every day, the feeling that she no longer had anything to occupy her mind with, no list of seemingly impossible tasks to do, no twelve hour phone calls that were only supposed to last ten minutes. There was nothing left to do, and that was when she fell the most. Adrien had to help her with everything that day, from waking up, to brushing and doing her hair, along with getting dressed. Adrien had done it out of the goodness of his heart and the amount of love that he held for Marinette, yet Marinette still found that hard to believe. 

She hadn’t even noticed when Adrien walked back into the apartment, nor when he had run up to her and wiped the small, but present wet marks on her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked softly, gently holding her face. Marinette opened her eyes and was met with Adrien’s kind and relaxed face, looking at her with caring eyes and a loving smile. 

“I… I…” she tried to choke out words, feeling the world falling on top of her, she began to hyperventilate as she attempted to get air circulated through her body. Adrien looked at her worriedly, he had dealt with all of the things that Marinette went through, stress and tears, making sure she woke up and felt comfortable, but this was different.

_ It was an anxiety attack. _

Adrien knew from the look in her eyes, but he had experienced a handful of anxiety attacks when his mom disappeared, he knew the symptoms and knew exactly how it felt, he also knew that it was probably the last thing he wanted Marinette to be experiencing. 

“Hey” he said softly, taking her clammy hand into his own “Breath with me” he requested, placing her hand on his chest “You’re ok, nothing’s wrong” he said, looking at her terror filled eyes “It’s ok” he said soothingly “In” he said, taking a deep breath in “out’ he added, gently letting out the breath. Marinette tried to follow his example, trying to fill her lungs with air. “You’re doing really good” he said with a small nod. 

_ ‘Is his heartbeat as fast as mine?’  _ Marinette thought, her fear and dread starting to balance out into a new normal. 

“You’re doing amazing” he whispered with a smile, giving her a small nod “Keep breathing” he urged, gently massaging her hand, keeping it close to his chest “Just a few more” he said, taking a look at the watch on his wrist. Marinette sat there, trying to follow Adriens instructions, it worked for a bit, but then it stopped getting better, it just steadied out into a pile of dread that lined her stomach. “Alright, you’re ok” he whispered. That’s when Marinette noticed that the gentle massaging had been a genius way to start taking her pulse, waiting until her heartbeat slowed back to her normal pace, he moved his grip from her wrist down to her cold fingers, moving her hand up towards his mouth and placed a tender kiss on the middle knuckle. Marinette looked at him through blurry and wet eyes, immediately falling down onto him, wrapping her arms around his abdomen. He felt Adrien gently pick her up, slipping an arm under her rear as she wrapped her legs around him. “Let’s get you to bed princess”

_ Memory _

_ Adrien heard his door open as the sun began to peak over the horizon, leaving the previous day behind and turning it into a brand new opportunity.  _

_ “Hello Adrien” his father called from behind him “I presume we have guests” he added quietly, being kind enough to not wake everyone up. Adrien looked at Marinette, the small girl curled up against him, while sleeping it seemed like she had no care in the world.  _

_ “Hello father” Adrien murmured, gently untying himself from Marinette’s gentle grasp “I need to speak with you if you have a moment” he added, finally getting out of the bed.  _

_ “Very well, I have something I need to say also” he said, allowing Adrien to walk in front of him. They walked into the hall, out of earshot from the others, Adrien wrung his fingers in front of him as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “What do you need to speak about?” His father questioned, looking at his son who had grown taller than himself.  _

_ “Father” Adrien whispered, looking back into the room with regret and sorrow “How do you arrange a funeral?” he choked out, looking at his father with wet eyes. Gabriels jaw opened and snapped shut quickly, his jaw muscles tensing.  _

_ “Why do you ask?” he questioned carefully. Adrien's face fell, he looked to the ground as he tried to force away the tears.  _

_ “They’re dead” He whispered “Marinette’s parents” he cried, looking at his father as a few stray tears rolled down his cheeks “Someone killed them” he dry heaved, remembering the scene. He saw his fathers jaw drop, he had read something along the lines of a murder, but hadn’t expected it to be someone his son was so fond of. Gabriel shook his head slightly and composed himself, taking one single breath to steady the surprise in his voice.  _

_ “I see” he stated with a breathy tone “I will call the cemetery where your mother was buried and have a plot reserved” he stated, his voice flat and monotonous to try and suppress his crazily beating heart.  _

_ “What about all her stuff?” Adrien asked, trying to compose himself as much as possible “What is she supposed to wear?” he questioned “Can she stay with us?” he asked, feeling his heart rate quicken. He quickly put a stop to that, not wanting to experience his first anxiety attack in close to half a decade.  _

_ “You’ll have to call officer Raincomprix about her stuff, but I’m sure you could go and grab a few of her things” he responded “of course she can stay” he finished, looking his son in the eyes. Adrien composed himself in record speed, knowing that he needed to be there for Marinette, and if he was going to do that he needed to be completely composed.  _

_ “Ok, you’ll call the cemetery?” He asked, pulling out his phone “I’ll call officer Raincomprix now and go with Nino to get some of her clothes” he stated, dialing the number he had received the previous night “Do we have a suitcase that I can put her things in?” he asked before shaking his head “I’ll just grab mine” he stated as someone on the other end of the phone picked up.  _

_ “Hello?” A tired voice called, obviously not have been sleeping, but tired nonetheless.  _

_ “Hi officer Raincomprix, it’s Adrien” he stated, running a hand through his hair “I was wondering if it would be alright if I went to get a few of Marinette's things?” he asked hopefully.  _

_ “Oh… Yes, I suppose that’ll be alright” he responded “But I do warn you, the scene is quite… gruesome” he warned carefully, regret in his voice.  _

_ “I dont care” Adrien stated, coming off a little more aggressive than he meant to “I’ll be there in five minutes” he stated, turning his phone off, turning to his patient father once again. When he turned to him though, he was frankly shocked. Gabriel looked physically worried and caring about the situation, he shot off emails by the second.  _

_ “I emailed the cemetery, they are reserving the plot immediately” he spoke quickly, his monotonous voice faltering slightly “the car is already out front, shall I have the cooks make her something to eat?” he asked, tucking his phone away neatly.  _

_ “Yes” Adrien stated quickly “Pancakes and bacon” Adrien started with a small nod “make sure they’re sweet” he requested, turning to jog into his room, Gabriel did something very similar to Adrien, carefully and swiftly moving down to the kitchen. Adrien took one final breath before he shook Nino awake, prepared to face the worst for Marinette.  _

_ Current Day _

Adrien held Marinette in his arms carefully, not wanting to wake her or disturb her sleep, instead he just gently ran soothing hands over her back, not daring to venture a centimeter below the small of it. He placed his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply, within a week Marinette’s parents would be dead for one year on the day, and he knew that with that Marinette would be getting persistently worse and worse as she tried to sort out everything that had happened that one fateful day. Adrien shivered slightly, deciding that he had no want to try and remember what it was like for either of them, instead he decided to try and give her a small surprise for her morning.

_ Memory _

_ Adrien sighed and looked at the bakery, if it could even be called that any longer. People were gathered around and snapping pictures of the scene, a scene that was meant to be hidden to the public's eyes, meant to be unnoticed, instead people were taking pictures of the scene, taking pictures of the body bags that lied on the bakery floor, taking pictures through the windows in hopes that they would catch a glimpse of what had happened. Adrien felt himself growl, pushing through the crowd roughly. He found officer Raincomprix, his whole form exhausted and disgusted which left Adrien with a question. _

Was he able to smell the death too?

_ If he was, he felt bad for him, because Adrien’s nostrils stung with the disgusting and rotten stench of death in the air. He hated the smell, hated how it left a bad taste in his mouth, hated how people were sitting and breathing it in while taking pictures of the scene, but he pushed forward. He walked into the scene, people separating to allow him through while Nino’s breathing quickened, he definitely wasn’t comfortable with this, and Adrien was fine with that. _

_ “I can do this alone” he stated, dismissing his friend to remain outside, he wouldn’t know it then, but that was likely the best idea he had that day. He held the suitcase off the ground, but his eyes lingered down to that spot, blood, there was a dried pool of it before it led into a large streak, he followed it, and as he suspected.  _

It led upstairs.

_ He breathed a few times and moved upstairs, making sure not to mess anything up or step on any evidence. The moment he walked into their living area, he wanted to throw up, blood was everywhere, it was on the walls, on the carpets, on the counters, the tv, the couch, the food, it was absolutely everywhere. It was on every surface, but the most disturbing part was that it wasn’t splattered or pooled, like it would be where a body laid. Instead it was handprints, streaks that clearly outlined fingers and a palm, and then the worst part of all, something that filled his stomach with cement and threatened to take his life, he turned and there was a message on the wall.  _

Mother died slow

_ He choked, closing his eyes tightly before taking deep and shaky breaths, praying that he wouldn’t find anything else, instead the moment he opened his eyes, his head turned to a second message crudely written on their once perfectly white cupboards.  _

Father died fast

_ He felt his breath shudder, but he still pushed on, he wasn’t going to look back on the message, instead moving up into Marinette's room, still untouched by the police. And there was the last message, tainting her beautiful and innocent pink walls.  _

Daughter will be last

_ He wanted to throw up, he wanted to run away with Marinette and hold her tightly, making sure that nothing would ever happen to that precious girl. He looked around the room, posters of him were replaced with candid photos of their friend group, but along with that there were a few posters of Cat Noir, he smiled and frowned internally, knowing that it was gone. He breathed in and out as he decided to move towards her dresser, wanting to leave the room as quickly as possible. He went through her drawers and placed a few items that he had seen her wear numerous times, along with items he had seen her wear once and wished she could know how beautiful she looked in them. Taking the underwear was the most difficult, mostly because that drawer was already open, leading his mind to the worst, but once again, he pushed on. Her underwear drawer was messy, pairs of panties and bras strewn about like someone had riled through it, but he decided to simply grab a few pairs that seemed close enough to match, not sure which she liked or disliked, but thankful that they almost all seemed relatively similar. _

_ Then he noticed something, a white corner peeking out at the bottom of the drawer, his curiosity won him over and he gently pulled it out, only to be met with two envelopes neatly folded together. There was one word on each envelope. _

Adrien

Marinette

_ He tucked them away in his coat pocket, looking around the room for anything else Marinette might want, he decided to take the few framed pictures she had, some with her family and some with her friends, but he was sure to get one of the only pictures she had of him and Marinette, it was a day in the park, a beautiful day, but it was also the day he fell in love with her. _

_ He hated that her once perfect and beautiful room had been turned into a scene, that her innocent pink walls had been burdened with death, that her room once stood for a safe place, and now it was nowhere near that, he left the room, walking back into the bakery again. He walked up to officer Raincomprix, leaning into his ear to whisper four words. _

_ “Marinette never finds out” _

_ He left the building only to be met with the same phones that were held up, recording the body bags being led to an ambulance so they could be taken to a morgue. Right then, his blood boiled more than he ever knew possible.  _

_ “LEAVE!” He screamed, the veins in his neck tensing “How would you like your body being filmed?!” he growled. People became uncomfortable, shifting on their feet as they avoided his gaze at all costs. “Leave” he hissed once more, moving through the uncomfortable pack of people, back into the car with Nino. _

_ Current day _

“Adrien?” a voice asked with a bit of amusement “two days in a row?” Sarah questioned, looking at him through the open door of her bakery. Adrien tried to think of how to respond, he didn’t want to reveal much about Marinette, mostly because it felt wrong to do so. 

“Baking emergency?” he said, questioning his own answer. Sarah let out a small laugh, holding the door open for him. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you wanted to see me” she stated with a smirk. Adrien decided to just scratch his neck sheepishly, knowing that her statement was relatively far from the truth, but also knowing that he had no desire to explain that to Sarah. “So, something for your roommate again?” she asked, walking behind the counter. 

“Yeah, she’s down in the dumps right now” Adrien explained, looking through the display cases. Sarah reached over and offered him a white mug, steaming at the top. 

“Coffee?” she asks, holding out the mug. 

“Thanks” Adrien responded, taking the mug from her hand and carefully sipping the hot contents. 

“So, what is it today?” she asked “Croissants? Macarons? More muffins?” she asked with a smirk. Adrien thought for a few moments before he remembered something that someone had told him long ago.

_ ‘Trust me Adrien, cake reaches the heart long before it reaches the stomach’ Tom's voice called in his mind.  _

“What about cake?” he asked, looking up at Sarah. He looked at her hair and finally noticed that she had a streak of purple next to a streak of red dyed onto her hair, her bangs shaped her face nicely and she was relatively fit, she reminded him of Marinette, but at the same time she was miles behind. She didn’t have that factor that Marinette had, a factor that he had never been able to pinpoint, but in the end, he knew it was simply that he loved Marinette and loved every single aspect of her. 

“Cake at 8 in the morning?” she giggled “Sounds like a fun time” she said as she opened the glass display and cut an extraordinarily large piece of picture perfect cake before placing it in a cardboard box with the bakeries logo and handing it to Adrien.

“Yeah, cake in bed is probably the perfect way to start any day” Adrien smirked, taking the box before pulling out his wallet. 

“You don't need to pay” Sarah explained “In fact I dont think I’m allowed to sell anything before I open, some law or regulation” she shrugged, waving off his money away. Adrien persisted, instead just taking a random bill out of his wallet and placing it into the tip jar. 

“Luckily I’m not paying, only tipping” he explained with a smirk, turning and walking out of the bakery with the box in his hands, ready to do anything to cheer up the girl of his dreams. 

A girl who he loved more than he thought possible.

**So this is another chapter that I hate, mostly because I had to rush it to give you all another chapter, and once again it feels clunky and unreadable to me, but I also know that if I rewrite it, it'll only get worse. Other than that I am happy with where the story is going, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment.**


	4. Cake

Adrien stepped inside their apartment, quietly moving to the kitchen, he grabbed a plate and a fork before opening the box and sliding the cake onto it carefully, he took a look at the cake and smiled, it was bright red and colorful, Marinette would enjoy it.

He stepped back into their room and found Marinette hugging her knees, her face cradled in the small gap between them. That’s when his stomach filled with dread, he was praying that she would be asleep when he walked back into their room, but either way he carefully walked over, setting the cake on the nightstand. 

“Hey” he whispered, sitting on the bed next to her “what’s wrong?” he asked, gently stroking her hair. 

“I… I… I d-d-don't know” she whispered, only looking at her knees. Adrien quickly wrapped an arm under her knee and another around her back, he lifted her up and gently placed her down on his lap, hugging her tightly. 

“Alright” he responded, a soft and caring voice coming out of his mouth, placing his nose in her hair he spoke again “It’s ok” he added, giving her a gentle squeeze “I got you a piece of cake” he added, hoping to coax her face out of her knees. 

“You did?” she asked, her head moving an inch upwards. 

“Yeah” he replied, gently moving a few stray strands of her hair “but you don't need to eat it right now” he added, stroking her back. 

“Can I take a bath first?” she asked, finally moving her head out from her knees. 

“Of course... you know you don't need to ask me” he replied, gently releasing his grasp on her. 

“I.. I-I” she takes a deep breath, looking at him with tender eyes, and the small semblance of an extra bit of confidence “I just want to make sure you can sit with me” 

_ Memory _

_ “Hey Mari” Adrien stated, carrying in his suitcase. He gently set it down next to her and looked around the room “Where’s Alya?” he asked, gently sitting down next to her. _

_ “She went home” she whispered. Adrien nodded slightly, hoping Nino realized that and went home himself.  _

_ “You didn’t touch your breakfast” he stated, looking at the untouched plate of perfect pancakes on his nightstand. _

_ “I’m not hungry” she responded, looking at her feet.  _

_ “Are you sure?” he asked gingerly “You should eat, it’ll help” he added, looking over to her with a smile.  _

_ “I’m not hungry” She replied, a large amount of a bite at the end of each of her words. Adriens smile vanished, he looked away slightly, her anger slightly hurting him before he calmed himself once more, his eyes turning back to her with an even more caring and loving gaze. _

_ “Don't do that” He requested, turning to look at her warmly “I don't know how you’re feeling, but I know that there’s so much going around your head that you don't know who to point your emotions at, but I also know that you’re not meaning to point your anger at me” he said, moving some of her hair behind her ear “but I honestly don't think I can take you being mad at me” he murmured, gently stroking her cheek. Marinette’s breath hitched, for a moment all of her pain was gone as she looked at his slightly hurt smile. _

_ “I’m sorry” she sighed, looking at him sadly, no matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't find any other words to add, lucky for her, Adrien already knew what to say.  _

_ “I don't want you to be sorry” he said, moving his other hand to cup the other side of her face “I can tell that there’s so much going on in that amazing and beautiful head of yours” he added with a small smile “I just want you to know that I’ll always be here” he finished, then, he felt the most amazing feeling of his life, he felt her lips touch his gently, her lips kissing only his bottom lip tenderly as if they were asking him to take the lead and figure out what it all meant, figure out what all the emotions and feelings meant in their tender kiss. He cupped the back of her head and separated the tiniest bit, if only to figure out if she had wanted to continue or not. That was answered when she gently traced his chest with her finger tip, looking back up at him. He moved back in and kissed her once more, gently placing a small peck on her lips once more before moving back. _

_ Marinette immediately wanted to cuss herself out, she enjoyed kissing Adrien, she enjoyed kissing him, but felt dread creep up on her throat, scornfully berating her for enjoying a moment in her life. She tried to force it down, but it sat in a small corner of her mind.  _

_ “What was it like?” she asked quietly, not wanting to look at him “What happened to them?” she whispered in question, sliding onto his chest and tucking her head under his chin. Adrien swallowed, he hated lying, but for now it was to protect the girl he loved, the girl he had been in love with for three years.  _

_ “It was an accident” he stated, gently stroking her messy pigtails. He tugged out the hair ties, allowing her hair to fall limp as its bounds were released.  _

_ “Did they…” she started, suddenly deciding to rephrase her question “Were they in pain?” she asked, her eyes threatening her with tears.  _

_ “...No…” he lied, he lied about everything, but he knew that Tom and Sabine would appreciate the lie, knowing their daughter didn’t know exactly what had happened. “How about you take a bath?” he suggested, praying that she wouldn’t notice his eager change of subject “Wash the day away” he said, gently running his hand through the knots in her hair. He knew Marinette wasn’t sure, but he also knew that a relaxing bath would be able to take some of the stress from her.  _

_ “Can…” once again she stopped, deciding to say something else “I… I don't want to be alone” she admitted, nuzzling into the bare skin of his neck.  _

_ “Then I’ll sit right on the edge of the bathtub” he said, loving the feeling of her nuzzling into his neck “I won’t look, but I’ll be right there” he said, gently kissing the top of her head.  _

_ “I know you won't” she stated, speaking against his neck “I trust you” she explained, starting to shift to get up, he went to follow only to feel the letter crinkle in his pocket.  _

_ “I’ll be right in… ok?” he asked, staring into the uncertain eyes of his favorite girl “I promise, I’ll be ok” he whispered, gently kissing her knuckle. She nodded slightly and moved into his large bathroom, that was when he quickly yanked the letters out of his pants. He tore open the letter that had his name on it and started quickly reading.  _

_ Adrien _

_ I know you blame me and Plagg, and I also know that you saw exactly what had happened in the bakery, so I need to say I’m sorry. What happened there was terrible, but it was unavoidable, we knew it was coming and we couldn’t risk ourselves to stop it, even less risk you two. In case you’re wondering, it’s not a coincidence that you defeated Hawkmoth that day, we pushed you two to do it, knowing that it would allow both of you to be away from the house at the time of the attack, but there was nothing we could have done for Tom and Sabine. I’m sorry that this had to happen. I know you might ask what it has to do with the miraculouses disappearing, and we had to go to make sure that no one found us, so we needed to leave you two on your own, knowing if we didn’t, something worse would have happened. _

_ Marinette trusts you, but right now she’s uncertain whether or not you’re Cat Noir, so don't let her read the letter I wrote for her until she knows that you’re her kitty... don't worry, you’ll know exactly when the time is right.  _

_ I don't have much else to say. I’m so sorry that this had to happen, but it happened now and I’m unsure how it happened so quickly without either me or Plagg sensing it. So please, I only ask you to look after Marinette, I know you love her, so love her as I know you can.  _

_ -Tikki _

Adrien growled angrily, that was what he got as an explanation, a few “we’re sorrys” and a “there’s nothing we can do” sprinkled in. That’s what he and Marinete got, a tiny message saying that they were sorry and that they weren’t able to do anything. It was total BS, he got barely any explanation and was instead told that they had left in a self preserving act. He was about to tear the letter apart when he heard something. 

“Adrien?” Marinette whispered in question, her head peeking out “Are you alright?” she asked, looking at him slightly nervously. 

“Yeah” he responded, hiding the letter away quickly “sorry, I just froze up for a second” he said, walking up to her with a smile. He planted a kiss to her forehead, gently inhaling the scent of her hair. “Come on, a bath will do you some good” he whispered.

Current Day

Adrien sat with his back against the bathtub, he could hear Marinette’s gentle breathing as she tried to relax and calm her emotions.

“Can I have your arm?” He requested, not looking behind him. 

“What?” she asked, slightly confused. 

“Can I hold your arm?” he asked, looking at his knees “Usually you play with my hair or give me your hand to hold” he was tempted to turn around, tempted to kiss every inch of her body, but he didn’t, instead he felt her wet arm gently fall onto his chest. He was gentle when he grasped her arm in his own, from there he gently hugged her arm, placing a kiss on her pale bicep. He held her arm carefully and tenderly, feeling his sweater become wet with the water dripping from her rose tinted skin.

“Adrien?” Marinette asked quietly. 

“Yes my love?” he whispered, kissing her arm once again. Marinette felt her heart flutter at her words, it made her want to have him in the bath with her, holding her tightly as she gently rested against his chest. 

“I know It’s hard on you” she said, trying to tame the emotions running rampant in her voice “I would understand if you decided that I’m to much” she added, carefully trying to pull her arm away “If you leave I wont blame you” she finished, waiting for a response. Adrien didn’t respond, instead he felt anger roar in his body, he released her arm, stood up and picked her up before stepping into the bathtub and falling down into the water, all with his eyes closed for the sake of her privacy.

“Why?” He asked angrily “Why are you trying to push me away?” he growled, feeling her quick heartbeat on his wet sweater. 

“The floors are getting wet” she whispered, hearing the small splashes of water. 

“I dont care” he hissed. 

“Your sweater will be ruined” she said, feeling the wool beneath her fingers. 

“I. Dont. Care” he responded angrily. He heard Marinette sigh slightly, curling up in his arms as she scooted up towards his face. 

“You can open your eyes” she whispered, leaning her forehead against her temple. He did, moving his forehead against hers as the water turned cold. 

“Why are you trying to push me away?” he asked, anger still clearly present in his voice. Marinette closed her eyes as a few tears fell through her tightly clasped eyes. 

“I feel bad for being happy” she admitted, her voice breaking at the end of her sentence. She felt his hot and angry breath on her cheeks “They’re gone and I’m happy” she cried, feeling his angry muscles relax as guilt fell over him, drowning himself in a pool that he would never show to Marinette. 

“My sweet baby” he whispered, cupping the back of his head “I’m sorry for getting angry” he whispered, gently stroking her hair.

“Why should I be happy when they aren’t here anymore?” she cried, her voice pained with the burden of the memory of her dead parents. Adrien sighed gently, running a few fingers through her hair. 

“You’re parents loved you so much” he started, gently squeezing her “They loved you so much, and when I became your friend, they loved me like I was their own” he added, seeing her try and hold back the stream of tears “Marinette, they’re looking on you from heaven right now and thinking about the strong girl they raised, the beautiful girl who brings sunshine into a room when she enters, the girl who makes my heart flutter every time I catch her eyes… the girl who owns my complete heart” he hummed, feeling Marinette try and get closer than they already were “They want you to be happy, if they were alive they would want you to be happy… and right now they want you to be happy” he stated truthfully. He waited a few moments until he spoke again, a small smile forming on his face “can you open your eyes for me?” he asked kindly, a smile on his face. 

“If I open my eyes, I’ll start crying again” she warned, her voice cracking from all the amazing words and memories, memories of Adrien and her hiding from a crowd of paparazzi and crazed fans as they looked at eachother, her parents hugging her tightly before she went to school the day that they defeated hawkmoth, all the emotions blended in her stomach as she tried to comprehend what she was feeling. 

“I know” he whispered, giving her a gentle kiss on the side of her lips “and I’ll always be the one to hold you when you cry, because I’m never leaving Marinette, I’m staying here for the long haul” he said happily. Marinette finally opened her eyes and crashed their lips together, tears flowing as she kissed him with a passion she didn’t know she had, but most of all she felt the happiness in her stomach without the pool of dread trying to absorb her. When they separated, Marinette shivered a little as a few straggling tears rolled out of her eyes and their bodies were covered in cold water. Adrien gave her a small smile in return, the problem might not have been fixed, but Adrien had chipped away at the large wall, and he would continue chipping at the wall until he released all the emotions that Marinette had hidden away from him. It was a long and dangerous road, and she still had thousands of sensitive nerves which he could set off with a single word or a food. But he knew that Marinette was the love of his life, the girl who he would always hold to a pedestal, he would kiss the ground beneath her if she requested. “Let's get you dried off” he requested as he picked her up out of the cold water of the bathtub. Adrien took a towel off the hook and handed and gently let Marinette down, handing her the towel. “Hey” he whispered happily. 

“Hey” she responded, a small ghost of a smile on her own lips. 

“I love you” he whispered, gently kissing her forehead. Marinette felt her heart flutter, a smile formed on her lips and for once she forced it to stay, she too knew that it would be a hard road ahead, but it was hard not to enjoy the small high she got, she breathed in deeply, deciding that she would enjoy the high before she tumbled down, knowing Adrien would be able to catch her. She didn’t care if she hadn’t reached her lowest point yet, heck she knew she hadn’t, but it felt a little easier to know that Adrien was holding her hand as she recovered. Suddenly a large piece of material was thrown over her, her entire upper body, along with her thighs, covered with a large piece of cloth, one that Marinette immediately loved the smell of. 

“Sorry, you were just standing there all cute” Adrien whispered, admiring her form completely covered in one of his hoodies. 

“You mean naked?” she giggled, a noise that brought joy to his heart and tears to her eyes, a noise that Adrien hadn’t heard in months on end, a noise that he had missed more than he knew he could. He felt his heart flutter, he immediately scooped her up in his arms without a single care in the world, well there was one care. 

_ Marinette. _

_ At Sarah's Bakery _

Sarah grabbed two cups of tea and handed one to her best friend, Anna, she grinned excitedly as the pair sat cross legged on her living room carpet. 

“Come on!” Anna groaned “Tell me what happened!” she begged as she took a sip of the hot tea, burning her mouth. Sarah rolled her eyes, gently blowing her lips on the hot liquid. 

“He just came in and asked for a piece of cake for his roommate” she said, trying to wave her off “Plus I don't even like him like that anymore” she said defensively. 

“First of all, don't even try that” Anna begged with a knowing smile “you let him into your bakery when you weren’t even supposed to be open today, and you still have that weird glazed eye look that makes you look like a zombie” Sarah and Anna laughed at the comment, reminding them of the days when Sarah would look at him from far away only to have Anna shove her to break her transe.

“Fine, maybe I do like him a little bit again, but he just comes in to buy stuff for his roommate” Sarah reminded her friend who seemed bent on convincing her that Adrien and her were star crossed lovers. 

“His roommate?” Anna asked, slightly dumbfounded “Girl, let me tell you this, Adrien Agreste, a supermodel, does not need a roommate, he could buy half of France if he really wanted to, so why would he need a roommate?” she asked with a small smirk “he totally wants to hit!” She squealed, an excited grin forming on her face. 

“Anna, I doubt that” Sarah sighed, shaking her head “He probably just wanted to make up some excuse so he could buy a piece of cake for himself at six in the morning” she suggested with a small shrug, taking another sip of tea “Or he was getting a piece of cake for his girlfriend and just using “Roommate” as code” she sighed, hating that it was a possibility lingering on her mind. 

“Sarah!” Anna reprimanded “When you want to buy your girlfriend a treat you buy her something light, macarons or croissants, not a giant piece of cake” she laughed “he definitely just bought it so he could see you again” she finished with a smirk.

“He did tip me a hundred dollars” she whispered, hiding her wide smile with her mug. 

“Seriously!” Anna yelled “why didn’t you tell me?!” she asked with a small screech “He definitely wants to tap that!” she cheered “and then take you on a nice and romantic date because he’s a gentleman who treats his girlfriend properly” she finished with a wink, finally lifting her mug back up to her lips, only to burn her mouth more “ow!” she hissed. Sarah smiled and walked towards her freezer to get her friend an ice cube, but her mind lingered on Adrien, was it really possible that her childhood crush could have fallen for her. 

_ No, that was impossible.  _

He had come one morning for muffins, and the next morning for cake, so maybe part of him was deciding to come back for more than her sweets, but right now, she decided to only hope. As the saying goes, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a routine. She smiled and grabbed an ice cube before chucking it at her friend with a bashful smile, serotonin rampant in her mind as Adrien filled her mind. 

_ Maybe, just maybe, she was lucky. _

_ Adrien and Marinettes _

Marinette was wearing Adrien’s sweatshirt as she moved under his arm, his lap holding the plate of cake. She took the fork and gave it a taste, smiling as the overly sweet confection met her taste buds, she smiled and took another piece from the cake, but instead of lifting it to her own mouth she lifted it up to Adriens. He ate it without a moment of hesitation, moving to smile at Marinette. 

“It’s sweet” he started with a grin that was all too familiar to Marinette “but not as sweet as you” he replied, gingerly kissing her forehead. Marinette flicked his nose slightly, a content smile on her face before she moved back to the cake. Adrien smiled and moved his eyes around, eventually settling on a shiny object that caught his attention. 

_ Marinette’s phone.  _

It sat there in all its glory, it was still shut down, but she had it out, and she might even plan on turning it on for the first time in a year. He couldn’t help but lean down again and kiss her temple once more, feeling his heart swell with affection. 

_ Today was a good day. _

**Sorry for accidentally doubling the chapter, I posted it at like 3 in the morning and was exhausted by the time I proof read it, other than that I'm fairly happy with the chapter, so I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. New Flame

Adrien gently traced Marinette's naked thigh with his finger, he was happy to say the least, Marinette was curled up against him, wearing only his large sweatshirt that covered the majority of her body. He smiled, Marinette seemed genuinely happy at that moment, sleeping peacefully against Adriens chest like she had done so many nights in a row, but just like every time before, joy filled Adriens heart. It only got better as he heard Marinette murmur something in her sleep, hopefully dreaming of something nice and sweet. 

The entire previous day was spent in their bed, gently snuggling and watching tv as Marinette ate the piece of cake Adrien had bought her. Now it was the next morning, and Adrien was happy to say that he didn’t need to go anywhere today, he wouldn’t be slipping away to get her a pastry or a piece of cake, of course he would be doing that once she woke up, but right now she was too cute to walk away from.

He leaned back and released a content sigh, he was in pure bliss right now, but sadly his movement seemed to stir Marinette from her peaceful slumber, her eyes opened gently as her hand began to slide down his chest a little. 

“Morning” she whispered, a small ghost of a smile spreading on her face. 

“Morning” Adrien whispered back happily “How’d you sleep?” he asked, gently tugging her up so he could be face to face with her. 

“Tired” she murmured, apparently thinking that was an answer to the question she asked “Why am I not wearing any pants?” she asked, her exhaustion clouding her mind as she looked down at her thigh that was half covered with Adriens hoodie. 

“Hey, you’re the one who didn’t put pants on” Adrien said with a cheeky smile. Marinette felt herself match her smile, memories of yesterday's bathtub incident still clear in her mind. She felt the same pool of dread that she felt every day, but she couldn’t help her smile when looking at Adrien. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, it was small, but she also knew that those tiny blips of affection meant everything to Adrien. 

“I love you” she whispered, gently putting her nose against his cheek affectionately. Adrien turned to her, his smile beaming.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me” he responded, moving in closer so that their foreheads were almost touching “Because I love you so much more than you could ever possibly know” he breathed, his breath touching Marinette's cheeks. He gently leaned in and gave the side of her lips a small kiss, happy to just be able to kiss her. “You seem good today” he suggested, separating slightly. 

“It’s… it’s still there” she whispered, her forehead against his temple “The pain and sadness, the dread to do anything or speak any words, the fear that someone will see me and recognize me” she added, closing her eyes “but I need you to know that it isn't you, and that I want to be happy with you” she stated, trying to keep her voice calm “Because I really do want to spend the rest of my life in your arms” she finished, feeling her eyes prick with the similar feelings of her tears as her body tried to force her to feel sad and depressed. 

“Good, because that’s exactly where I want you” he responded with a smile, wrapping both arms around her, giving her a small squeeze “But I also don't want you hiding anything from me because you want to make me happy” he added, smirking at the girl content with being sat in his lap.

“You already know how I’m feeling” she leaned back into his shoulder, feeling exhaustion tackle at her eyes again “You can always tell” she whispered as her eyes fell heavy once again.

“Don’t fall asleep” Adrien requested, starting to stand up “I’m starving and if you fall asleep I won't move until you’re awake” he whined, standing up, being sure to move slowly. 

“Mmmm” Marinette hummed, her face against his neck “You seem fine carrying me” she teased, trying her best to fight the part of her brain that refused to let her be happy. Adrien smirked and chose to change the subject.

“Do you want to come with me to get breakfast?” he asked, setting her down on the couch. She stiffened a little, causing Adrien to give her a small and sympathetic smile. Marinette hated being seen by people, Marinette hated being seen by everyone except Adrien, that was why she only ran outside in the middle of the night. He knew the fear was more so being recognized, that was obvious since she had told him that moments prior.

“It’s alright, I’ll be back soon” he stated, giving her forehead a small kiss. Marinette smiled, curling into the couch slightly. 

“Mmm” she hummed, falling back to sleep, her mouth opening as her mind slipped away. 

“No” Adrien warned, poking her nose with a smile “I expect you awake and aware when I come back” he stated, giving her a smirk as she furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes at him, he leaned in one last time, kissing her nose “maybe you’ll even put on some pants” he whispered, immediately feeling her cheeks turn a bright red. 

“Wow, I wake up happy for once and you’re already teasing me” Marinette whined, looking at him with a pout. Adrien let out a small sigh, squatting down so he was eye level with Marinette. 

“I know, but I’m just so excited to see you actually smiling” Adrien stated happily, moving a hand to cup her cheek “but don’t you dare try to hide away the pain, like you said I can tell” he moved his hand back to slip into her messy hair, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb “I will not let you pretend the pain doesn’t exist just to make me feel better” he finished, pressing one last kiss on her soft peachy skin. 

“Alright” Marinette whispered, looking at him, her smile still very much present on her face. 

“I’ll be back in a second” he stated, walking to the door and slipping on his slippers before walking out with a grab of his overcoat.

“Adrien” Marinette called as he was halfway out the door. He looked as she turned, a sheepish smile on her face. 

“What is it?” he asked, slightly stepping back into their apartment with a small worried expression. 

“You’re the only person I ever want to call my boyfriend” she stated, a smile on her lips that fully reached her eyes, bringing them to her fully vibrant and beautiful blue color. 

“You have no idea how happy you just made me” he said, feeling his heart warm as he gave her one last smile and walked out of their apartment, locking the door behind him. 

Marinette couldn’t help but smile, feeling a loving warmth running down her body as she reveled in how safe she felt in Adriens presence. She stood up and walked over to their room, letting out a content sigh as she looked around the room, almost like she had just walked into the room for the first time, her eyes finally fell to her phone on her nightstand.

Maybe it was time to unlock it.

Adrien had realized that he had never been to Sarah's bakery when it was actually open, in fact he had been frequenting another bakery for almost the majority of a year before the owner retired and closed it down, then of course he read that Sarahs opened. Now the bakery was in its fully open and operating hours, he found himself a bit nervous. For one, he wasn’t too sure of what to make of Sarah, and he had tried his hardest to get better at reading people once he learned that Marinette had a crush on him throughout their juvenile years (that might’ve sped up their dating process). But Sarah definitely wasn’t shy around him like Marinette was.

_ So why did he feel uncomfortable going back to her bakery? _

‘She’s probably just intimidated by me’ he thought as he turned onto their street, he walked up to the bakery, only to find a few sporadic flashing cameras and an even larger jumble of people crowding the area. 

He walked towards the bakery, it was definitely odd, but he wasn’t sure if the bakery had just been popular and he had just been the oblivious person he had come to accept. However, that was not the case, the moment he approached numerous people's heads turned, no that was wrong, everyone’s head turned. Looking at him with a few amused looks and a few aggravated looks that weren’t meant for him. It was mostly odd that no matter what, everyone allowed him to walk in freely, disregarding the line that they were just in. 

“Adrien!” Sarah’s voice called happily, he looked over to her and found a very embarrassed and red face, a face that had the same brown hair and dyed streaks that belonged to Sarah. 

“Hey Sarah” Adrien responded “What’s going on?” he asked as he looked around the numerous people who had their eyes fixated on the pair. 

“I’m guessing you haven’t been on the internet yet?” Sarah asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck “Maybe we should go somewhere a little more…  _ private _ ?” she asked, only to hear a few mild whispers behind Adriens back. 

“Why?” Adrien questioned, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out what she was saying. 

“Um… It might be better if this is talked in private” she whispered, looking to the crowd of people behind him.

“Yeah sure” Adrien replied, still confused. 

“Anna, take over” she stated, grabbing Adriens wrist and pulling him into the backroom where the ovens and stoves were. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, looking around the small room. He only found himself disappointed, Sarah’s bakery was nowhere near the high quality and cleansed kitchen of Tom and Sabines, that wasn’t to say that it wasn’t clean, but Tom and Sabines always had a beautiful shimmer to it despite getting dusted in flour every other day, Sarahs on the other hand seemed a bit more like it had been used a few times and then forgotten about, but that wasn’t the case. 

“Ummm… I guess one of the times you stopped by a photographer got a picture” she whispered, looking away from him as she pulled her phone out. She quickly opened a bookmark on her internet browser and showed him an article. He squinted as he tried to read the small but bold lettering. 

**Agreste’s got a brand new flame**

There wasn’t much written after that, instead there were photos of him and Sarah, the few times he had stopped by before then, but without context it very much seemed like he was leaving after having a “fun” night. He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his neck. 

“Sorry about that” he stated tiredly “Apparently cameras like to follow me around” he said with a small smile and a chuckle. 

“Sorry for what?” she asked, looking at the crowded bakery they had just left “I’ve never had so much business in one morning... in fact I had to call my best friend to come in and help me” she said with a small giggle. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry that they think we’re… together” Adrien stated, finding himself playing with the ends of his hair as his other made a small gesture. 

‘Jeez my hair got long’ he thought, realizing that his hair was all the way down his neck to the start of his back. ‘Does Marinette like it like this?’ he found himself questioning, he quickly removed his hand from his hair and looked back down at Sarah. 

“That’s not too bad” Sarah whispered, looking away “I mean there's worse things than being called a supermodels new flame” she laughed, finally bringing herself to meet Adriens eyes. 

“Believe it or not, this isn't the first time it's happened” Adrien laughed, starting to move back towards the main room of the bakery “Awhile before I started dating my girlfriend, she helped me sneak out of my house and a few pictures got taken of us” he laughed, remembering how cute Marinette looked in her pajamas with a towel over her head “I thought she absolutely hated me, but I learned that she had a huge crush on me” he let out a sigh, remembering how simple things had been back then, Tom and Sabine were still here and Marinette was lively and fierce, even now she was, but she was always a little less certain now.

“Girlfriend?” Sarah whispered in slight shock, her mouth was open slight as she comprehend the words “You have a girlfriend?” she asked, her breath shaky and unstable. 

“Oh yeah” Adrien cringed remembering that he had called Marinette his roommate “She’s…  _ private _ so I kind of refer to her as my roommate” he said with a nervous laugh “She doesn’t love it when I say too much about her” he lied, deciding that ‘her parents died and now she’s emotionally distrubed and prefers to cuddle on the couch rather than to leave the apartment, that’s why no one knows about her, but no matter what she’s the love of my life and everyone else pales in comparison’, she wouldn’t mind Adrien talking about her, but it definitely wasn’t something he was going to do. 

“oh” Sarah whispered, obviously upset about something, something that was completely over Adrien’s head at that point.

“Is something wrong?” Adrien asked, placing a careful hand on her shoulder “You look like you’ve seen a ghost” he added, trying to look into her eyes which chose to look anywhere but himself. 

“No… I-I’m fine” she whispered, looking at her feet “Why are you here?” he asked, her voice soft, but containing a small ice to it. 

“Bakery” he responded a little dumbfounded “I’m here for baked goods” he added, raising an eyebrow towards her “Are you sure you’re alright? You looked all flushe-'' Adrien's breath hitched, suddenly something was very clear to him, after all he could easily remember Marinette when she became flush and red around him. Before he could politely tell her that, while she was a nice and kind girl, his heart was already tied to someone else he loved more than anyone could know, Sarah interrupted him before he could speak.

“Yeah!” she said quickly, seeing the look of realization “I think I’m under the weather” she squeaked, opening the door back into the crowded bakery “So what can I get you?” 

Adrien sighed deeply, he walked back into their apartment and felt bad, he loved Marinette and Sarah was pining over him, he was suddenly very glad he brought up having a girlfriend. He didn’t lead her on, heck he didn’t even know her last name, he really only knew her as the girl who worked or owned the bakery a few blocks away, which meant that Sarah wasn’t attracted to him, but the model version of him. He shook his head and set down a small box of cupcakes on the marble counter. 

“Mari!” he called, looking around the living room. 

“Bedroom” she stated back, Adrien walked over with a smile on his face, wanting to just cuddle with his adorable girlfriend. He walked in and found Marinette sitting on the bed, clad in a pair of his sweatpants as well, but there was something different, she held a small piece of silver in her hand, it almost seemed foreign in her hand. “How’s your new flame?” she teased, a small smile twitching at the edge of her lips. 

“The one day you unlock your phone” Adrien groaned, flopping on the bed in between her legs. He crawled up towards her until his head was resting on the lowest part of her abdomen, letting out a sigh. He felt her hands tangle into his hair, gently combing through any knots that burdened the blonde locks. 

“You know” Marinette whispered “I’m not saying you are… but if you are doing…  _ that  _ with her… I...” she swallowed as she tried to get through the sentence “I wouldn’t be mad” she said, quiet enough that it barely registered in Adriens ears. 

He sprang up and looked at her, absolutely horrified at the implication of her words, he was not someone who would cheat, especially not someone who would cheat on the girl who he was desperately in love with. 

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman” Adrien stated firmly. 

“I’m not saying you did” Marinette sighed, looking down at his hands, firmly planted on her thighs. “I just know that we haven’t done…  _ that…  _ even though we’ve been together for a long time” she whispered, a small blush on her face as she moved her head down. He gently put a finger under her chin and pulled up her head a little, giving her a small smile. 

“Marinette” Adrien said calmly “I am not outsourcing my sexual desires” he said with a small laugh, happy to see Marinette let out a small and amused huff. 

“I trust you” Marinette said truthfully. 

“I know, and I love you more for it” he said, kissing her forehead “but I want to share everything with  _ you _ … including my first time doing that” he stated shyly, a tone matched by Marinette.

“I would’ve thought Chloe beat me to it” Marinette laughed slightly, trying to bring back a light mood. 

“Trust me, she tried” Adrien groaned, not wanting to relive those moments “But that’s not important, I know that I  _ need _ to make sure you know that I have no feelings for Sarah, heck I can’t even consider her a friend” Adrien made sure they were still close, but far enough where they were still a foot apart “I’ve spent all of five minutes with her, she works at the bakery I’ve been going to, but something tells me that I’ll be going somewhere else for now on” he grumbled, crawling over Marinette’s leg so he was beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

“She likes you” Marinette said with a smirk “I’m not so sure about the adorable, super romantic guy I fell in love with, but she definitely likes the teenage model with his model smile” she added, looking at the pictures again. 

“Model smile?” Adrien asked with intrigue. 

“Yeah, you kind of stopped giving me the model smile a long time ago, but I can see it here” she said, pointing a finger to the photo “it’s a smile you use when you don't necessarily want to give someone a real smile” she explained, looking up at him “It’s easy to tell the difference when I get to see your genuine smile so often” She leaned into his chest, making a small noise of happiness. 

“Come on my beautiful princess” Adrien urged “I got cupcakes” He laughed as Marinette visibly perked up at the mention of sweets in the early morning. He took her hand in his and dragged her out into the kitchen, quickly going to the box of four cupcakes. “I still don't get how you can eat all this sugar so early in the morning” Adrien stated, handing Marinette a chocolate cupcake. 

“Bakers daughter, remem-” she stopped, choking on her words as they came out. Her face fell as she looked at the confectionary in her hand. “I don't think I’m hungry” she whispered. 

“You don’t need to be hungry to eat a cupcake” Adrien reasoned, not noticing her sunken face yet. 

“I’m just not in the mood to eat anything” she responded, placing the cupcake on the counter, she began to walk back to their room before Adrien grabbed her wrist. 

“Talk to me” he whispered, looking at her enveloped in his oversized clothes that went well past her arms.

Marinette opened her mouth before closing it again, trying to sort out words that wouldn’t come out, eventually she just opened her arms as she tried to hold back the cry in her throat. But before she could even let the noise escape, she was wrapped in a firm grasp, comforting and large arms squeezing her gently. It was then that she found herself burying her face into the comforting scent that was her boyfriend. 

_ Sarahs _

“He has a girlfriend” She moaned, falling down on her couch. 

“And?” Anna asked with confusion.

“And that means he can’t be with me” she deadpanned tiredly, rubbing the bridge of her nose with exhaustion. 

“Pish posh” Anna groaned. 

“Anna, you’re brit is showing” Sarah replied with a smirk, her mind still rampant with thoughts of Adrien associated with a girlfriend. 

“Either way, it doesn’t matter much, if it’s a new relationship there’s a fair chance it’ll end in a few days” the british girl shrugged, standing up and walking over to her kitchen counter before hoisting herself up on it.

“And what would change if  _ me  _ and Adrien started dating?” she questioned, lying down on her couch. 

“He’s probably “dating” some supermodel bimbo who has no depth to her” Anna rolled her eyes tiredly. 

“He talked about her as if she had been a part of his life for years” Sarah responded, looking at her best friend from the comfort of her couch. “But he also does seem kind of flirtatious” she added hopefully. 

“From what I saw today, he is flirtatious” 

**Fair warning, I am going to be trying to make these chapters much much longer, I mean I'll be aiming for closer to 10,000 words, I just think that It'll become more of story rather than a bunch of strewn together sentences. Hope you enjoyed, As always comments are appreciated.**


	6. Chapter six

**So this might not be the 10,000 words I promised, it is 5000 words and im decently happy with it.**

“But he also does seem kind of flirtatious” Sarah added hopefully. 

“From what I saw today, he is flirtatious” Anna replied eagerly, her legs swinging back and forth from Sarah’s kitchen counter. 

“But he has a girlfriend” the other girl whined, angrily shoving the back of her head into a pillow again as if it would make all her troubles go away. 

“Fine, since that’s so important to you” Anna groaned as she hopped off the counter “Why don't you ask him about her the next time, get her name and stuff like that” she shrugged a little before getting an idea “LET’S LOOK HER UP!” She screamed, running to Sarah’s laptop, she threw it open and quickly jumped to her internet browser, moving much too fast for Sarah to protest. 

_ Adrien Agreste Girlfriend _

As soon as she hit enter the search results loaded, mostly it was just a bunch of tabloid articles suspecting Adrien to be dating a supermodel (along with the sporadic few who actually believed Sarah was his girlfriend) or others that tried to slew together a conspiracy theory about how Adrien was having a love child with an american widow while also having an illicit affair with a French actor who was three times his age. Then of course there were the articles talking about how he and Kagami Tsurugi had ended things only a week or two after they began dating, however, there was one interesting thing that popped up, as always twitter popped up on their search results, and as you do, Anna opened it. There it was once again full of tabloids and fan theories, in fact there were hundreds upon thousands of hashtags which accumulated into close to half a million total posts that included Adrien Agreste and the world girlfriend.

“I already tried” Sarah mumbled “I went through half a year of posts and found nothing” she grumbled, obviously aggravated by the fact. 

“That’s why you have me dear friend” Anna said with a bright smile “You said that he made it sound like they knew each other for a while right?” she asked, clicking the trackpad a few times.

“I think so” the girl on the couch whispered, trying to remember the conversation they had earlier that day “I might have assumed that based on how he talked about the past like it was ages ago” she suggested, unsure if she was just making that up to bury herself in more of a hole. 

“And that’s why I’ll sort from oldest post to newest” Anna quipped, quickly scrolling through the pages at a rate that shouldn’t be humanly possible. Anna herself was much like her best friend, there was a handful of differences, for one Anna’s hair was dyed to be a subtle greyish blue that was cut short into a wavy bob, other than that the biggest difference seemed to be their size, Sarah was taller and much lankier than Anna. 

“Ah! Here!” Anna yelped happily, clicking on the specific post “Wow, this is almost… four or five years ago” she stated with surprise “I mean I guess that would be considered awhile” the girl shrugged, looking at the post once again. 

“What does it say?” Sarah asked, starting to sit up and approach the computer as if it were some sort of stray animal that was threatening to bite. 

“It’s just from some tabloid” Anna responded as she pushed her glasses up further so she could read it “And I quote “Adrien Agreste was spotted with his supposed girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, as they went to the movies on a date together”... and that’s literally all it says” Anna groaned, scrolling through posts from the same week. “The rest are all just pictures of Adrien and her” she finished, looking up to her friend. 

“But four years ago would be before he even started dating Kagami” Sarah responded, still looking at the back of her laptop. 

“First of all… stalker” Anna teased “and secondly, this seems very similar to what happened to you today, except more people seemed interested then” Anna’s glasses slipped down her nose slightly as she looked at Sarah “Do you want me to look her up?” she asked, not wanting to overstep a boundary. 

“Can I… see her?” Sarah asked, intrigued by the girl that could possibly be Adrien’s girlfriend. 

“Sure, but I mean she’s also like only 14 in the photos” Anna replied, scooting to the side so Sarah could look at the post on the computer. Sarah climbed over and looked at the screen, sure enough it was a fifteen year old Adrien Agreste holding the hand of a smiling and blushing girl as they tried to evade cameras, they both looked thoroughly amused, but Sarah was more interested in Marinette. The girl was wearing pigtails and pajamas, she was small and very petite mixed with being short, causing her to just look small in general. 

“She’s cute” Sarah reasoned, looking at the pictures “We’re gonna look her up, right?” she questioned, her friend already donning a smirk. 

“Of course” Anna responded, shoving her friend out of the way as she took over the computer. She quickly typed the keys aggressively as she looked up

_ Marinette Dupain-Cheng. _

Adrien sighed a little as he looked at the clock, it was three in the morning and yet no matter what, he was unable to fall asleep, he wasn’t even tired, in fact he hadn’t let a yawn out the whole night. He decided to yield to his fate of staring at the ceiling while stealing hundreds of glances down towards Marinette. All he could think about was how adorable she was when she was sleeping, her gentle breaths calming and teasing him with the image of a perfect sleep, especially when that image was beautiful and using his chest as a pillow. Finally he realized something, causing his lips to turn to a smirk before he began to speak. 

“How long have you been awake?” He asked, gently patting her thigh, Marinette sighed as she opened her eyes, looking up at him.

“A while” She replied, rubbing her eyes tiredly “You can't sleep either?” she asked. Adrien smiled and sat up a little, pulling Marinette up with him.

“Yeah” He replied, smiling as Marinette nuzzled into his chest. He heard a small sigh come from Marinette, her head under his chin as she began to speak. 

“Do you want to go for a walk?” she asked, her hand finding Adriens arm, she gently took his forearm in his hand, kneading the muscles at the inverse of the elbow. Her action was slightly subconscious, but was also because she savored every moment their skin touched. 

On the other hand Adrien himself was very confused, he hadn’t ever expected to hear that from Marinette, he especially didn’t think those would be the words said to him at three in the morning. 

“Really?” Adrien questioned “I mean I know you don't like being seen... I don't want you to do something you’re not comfortable with” he added, running a hand up and down her thigh happily. Marinette made a small hum of happiness, gently tapping his chin with the top of her head. 

“It’s three a.m. and even in Paris, that usually means that the only people out now are the homeless and drunk college students” she shrugged, continuing on with massaging Adriens arm “Sure I hate being seen, but I doubt we’ll really see anyone out there” she said, a bit of hopefulness in her voice “Plus you’re the one who requested we move into the richest part of Paris, so it's not like there are going to be any drunk college students around here” she breathed in deeply, hoping that she was going to be right about that. 

“So… you’ll come with me?” Adrien asked quietly, praying that she wouldn’t change her mind last minute, after all he was dying to be able to walk around with his girlfriend, and if that were to be at 3 am then so be it. Who knows, maybe he would even find a small bakery or cafe open at this ungodly hour of the day, and then they could have a proper date. 

“Of course” 

“What does it say?” Sarah questioned, looking at the shocked face of her friend. 

“Remember that double murder last year?” Anna breathed out, looking at the computer with shock.

“Yeah, what about it?” She questioned, already feeling her mind connect the dots in the only way that made sense, which just so happened to be the worst possible scenario.

“Those were her parents” she choked up, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable with what they were doing. 

“Wait… you’re serious?” Sarah asked, moving so she could fully view the screen, and sure enough, there it was. An article outlining the murders, well more so what they could, after all the police were holding their cards so close to their chest that it seemed like they didn’t even know what cards they held. 

Sarah let out a quick sigh, instead deciding to skim over the article with her eyes.

_ On Tuesday night… two murdered… Baker Tom Dupain-Cheng and his wife, and pastry chef of beloved Tom and Sabine Boulangerie and Patisserie, Sabine Dupain-Cheng, were found murdered in their home… Survived by daughter Marinette Dupain-Cheng… _

After that it was just a bunch of filler talking about how their bakery would be missed and how they had been staples in the neighborhood along with being a great set of parents for their daughter who happened to be an aspiring designer. 

Suddenly the laptop was shut quickly, almost taking Sarah’s fingers with it, she yelped and jumped backwards, her whole body reacting to the sudden fright of having her fingers accidentally crushed by her old and slow computer. 

“Anna!” Sarah hissed, looking at her with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow, obviously upset and angry at what her best friend just did. 

“This feels wrong” Anna sighed, looking at the closed computer. 

“Why?” Sarah questioned, opening the laptop once again “It’s all public information, and it’s not like we’re stalking her or anything” she shrugged, looking towards Anna as the screen lit up “Plus it’s not like Adrien is purposefully keeping her a secret, he just says that she’s private, which would make sense after your parents died” she stated, turning back to the computer. 

“I guess your right” Anna said quietly, finding herself looking back towards the computer “It’s also kind of weird that he’s flirting with you if he has a girlfriend” she sighed, finding herself on Sarah’s side once again. 

“That’s what I’m saying” Sarah responded, scrolling through the next article “I’m just trying to figure out exactly who he’s dating and how long he’s been dating her” she added, aggressively reading the articles “It’s also kind of odd how there was a double murder, yet there were only two articles written about it” she groaned, angrily slamming a finger on her trackpad as she returned to her search browser “I mean it’s not even like two big newspaper articles, it’s two three paragraph articles that barely touch what happened” she moaned angrily, scrolling down the short amount of pages that came up with Marinette's name, however there was one last article that caught her eye quicker than others, that was because it was off of Jagged Stones website. 

“Wait, is that really Jagged Stones website? Or is that just some weird knockoff porn site that uses his name so they get more ad revenue?” Anna questioned, the words falling out of her mouth, almost, quicker than Sarah could understand them. 

“No, this is really Jagged Stones website” Sarah responded in awe, she clicked on the website, desperately searching where her name landed on the numerous images and large paragraphs. Then she stumbled on it, her name was bold against the standard Times New Roman text, and all of it was next to a picture of her and an album cover. Once again Sarah was left to read the paragraph quickly, skimming over the words as fast as she possibly could. 

_ Jagged Stones tenth album is a peculiar case… Not only did he want something special for his tenth full album, but he wanted the design to show his newly found artistic style along with his connection to the youth and younger generations sound without losing his classic style… he commissioned Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a local student and currently one of Jagged Stones dear friends (his niece if you ask him), to design his album… thankful for her and her stylistic choices when designing this album… in an interview Jagged stated “While my music shined brightly in this album, I also have to thank Marinette for her amazing design, she truly got the soul of rock and roll into a picture that depicts my latest album perfectly” _

“Wow” Sarah and Anna whispered in unison. 

“Paris is pretty at night” Marinette whispered, leaning into Adrien while his arm wrapped around her shoulders. 

“You’re even prettier” Adrien responded cheekily, receiving a glare from Marinette in response. 

“Well… I like it like this'' Marinette stated, looking back up to Adrien “I mean there’s no one out here and it feels like we have it all to ourselves” she added, looking around the empty streets. Lucky for both of them, Marinette was right, but Adrien supposed that living near the Trocadero and away from all the gritty nightlife and shady bars, meant that drunk college students avoided the area, especially since getting drunk in the area was almost as expensive as the rent. 

“It’s nice” Adrien stated, deciding that offering to buy all of Paris wasn’t the joke he wanted to make, instead he decided that he would be honest. Adrien breathed in the cold air, slightly stinging his nostrils as the scent of the city filled his mind. “Do you ever think about moving out of Paris?” he questioned, wanting to make some pleasant conversation. He turned to look at Marinette, her own blue eyes meeting his before they moved back down to the paved sidewalk.

“Sometimes” She whispered, looking at the buildings surrounding them “My parents used to tell me bedtime stories about Paris” she explained, seemingly changing the subject as she took a deep and shaky breath in, closing her eyes as she prayed that there were no more tears left in her “They were all obviously fake, but they always made it interesting” she turned to Adrien who was smiling carefully, mostly because he knew that one wrong move would be a stake through the heart and Marinette would be building her emotional walls once again “They used to tell me how a prince lived in his kingdom, but the king and queen were so jealous of their son that they built a giant maze around him, and he was left to search the maze day and night hoping to find a way out” she explained, enjoying the way that Adrien’s eyes focused on her as she told the story “But one day, a princess from another kingdom happened upon the maze and she decided to explore it, when she ran into the prince, they fell madly in love. Eventually they invited the entire kingdom to live in the walls of the maze, and that’s how Paris was created” Marinette finished, having to swallow the consistent lump in her throat. 

Adrien turned to her with a smirk, bending down to kiss the top of her head as they continued down the road. A stray car drove past them as they went off to someplace or the other, but Adrien didn’t care much, instead he found himself wishing that something on their side of town was open all night. 

“That was a cute story” He remarked, looking at the dark buildings next to them. He thought about the story and could only find himself thinking about… himself. Whether he liked to admit it or not it felt like the story outlined his childhood, trapped away in a prison of his fathers creation. Then he became Cat Noir and thought he fell in love with Ladybug, and while at the time it was love, he would learn, within a few years, that love was so much more. In fact he would learn that love is so much more than cute romantic surprises, while he still held a deep love for romantic outbursts, he also learned that it was about holding someone up when all they wanted to do was fall down, to protect them when they needed it the most. 

_ Memory _

**_Three weeks after funeral_ **

_ “You know, if you’re not ready for this then you don't need to go” Adrien sighed, gently running his fingers up and down her back soothingly.  _

_ “I know” Marinette whispered, leaning into him slightly “But if I don’t go back soon i’ll fall behind quickly” she added, making no objection when Adrien wrapped his arm around her, gently squeezing her closer to his side.  _

_ “I can help you catch up” he said calmly, seeing the school approach. He had gotten his fathers permission, more so told his father, that he and Marinette would be walking to school, mostly because he wanted privacy with Marinette and wanted to be sure that they avoided any road connecting to the bakery, it also helped that he had more time with her this way. “I just want you to know that you don't need to rush into anything” he added, looking towards her, she met his gaze and smiled as much as she could muster, only able to produce a small upwards bend of her lips. _

_ “I know… but the big house… it kind of scares me” she stated, slightly ashamed of her words “I mean, it’s more so just that I don’t want to be alone right now” she admitted, looking at her feet as they began to approach the steps of the school. Adrien gently nuzzled into her hair, gently pressing his lips against her head. _

_ “Don't worry, I’ll be right next to you the whole day” he whispered, gently moving his arm to put a supportive hand on her back. He only gained a smile when he felt Marinette gently take his hand into her own, her small fingers lacing into his larger ones.  _

_ “Thank you” She whispered, walking up to the school with shaky breaths, her hand tightened around Adriens as they carefully approached the school.  _

_ Adrien stopped walking and turned to Marinette, pulling her closely and looking at her with caring eyes. He knew this would be hard on her, and knew even more so that he could easily help her catch up, especially since it was the last few months of their senior year, so most of the important stuff was already taught the years prior.  _

_ “You don’t need to do this today” he reminded her, gently pulling her into his arms “I can help you catch up, we can go back to my house and cuddle if you want to” he added, giving her a smile, hoping that his knowledge of her love of cuddling would be enough.  _

_ “After school?” She asked, leaning her forehead against his chest.  _

_ “Of course” Adrien replied, gently rubbing her back “But the moment it becomes too much, we leave… alright?” he asked, pushing her off of him just the tiniest bit so he could see her. “Alright?” he asked again, giving her a smile.  _

_ “Alright” Marinette replied, gently patting his shoulder.  _

_ “Come on lets do this” _

_ Sarahs _

“Alright, I gotta get to work” Anna groaned as she finally moved from her sleeping position on Sarah’s couch. Her face scrunched up as she stretched, tiredly deciding to speak again “I should really quit” she sighed, looking towards Sarah. 

“You say that every morning you wake up here” Sarah responded, grabbing a mug out of her cupboard. “Coffee or tea?” she asked, looking back towards Anna. 

“No time” She stated, standing up and checking her phone “apparently my boss has some super important stuff to tell me” she looked back to Sarah and noticed the dark bags under her eyes “Don't tell me you spent the entire night researching this girl” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“Not all night” Sarah replied with a small shake of her head “Just until four in the morning” she responded with a smirk. 

“You do realize it's five in the morning now, right?” Anna asked with a smile “It doesn’t really matter... the next time Agreste stops by just ask him about her, I doubt they’re that serious, everything we found showed that they had been friends for the most part” she added, taking her coat off of the coat hook “And we might’ve been researching a random girl too, ask so you can be sure” she begged, slipping on the coat

“I would say that if they’re living together, that would make them pretty serious” Sarah deadpanned “But sure, I’ll talk to him about it the next time me and him speak” she added just to make her friend happy, but in the end it was also to make herself happy, after all she wanted to know just exactly what this relationship was. 

“I know” Anna replied with a smirk “You’re nothing if not confident” she stated, giving her friend a small wave before walking out of her apartment, leaving Sarah wondering just when she would get the chance to speak to Adrien again. She walked up to her window and looked out towards the street of her bakery, she sat there for a minute or two as Anna disappeared into the distance. She was about to leave the window, only to notice Adrien walking down the street while holding something… no someone in his arms

_ A few moments ago _

“Did we really just spend the entire night walking around Paris?” Adrien asked as he looked at the newly rising sun. Adrien smiled as he breathed in the quickly warming air, turning to look over to Marinette. “Mari?” he asked, looking down to her carefully. Instead Marinette was frozen, looking forward with a slightly horrified expression. “Mari?...” he asked carefully, looking towards her with a confused expression. 

She walked forward, seemingly ignoring Adrien, she most definitely wasn’t ignoring Adrien, but she was more focused on whatever was in front of her. Her breath shook as she took a few careful steps forwards, she moved as if she were drunk and afraid of falling over, but she kept moving. Adrien followed her movements until he realized where they were, somehow he had forgotten the one road to avoid, the one place that he planned around, the one block that he moved as far away from just to be sure he and Marinette never saw it again. 

“Mari” he begged, praying that she didn’t realize where they were, that she would forget they ever came to this part of the city. But instead she fell to her knees, crumpling to the ground as if the world had just fallen on her, her eyes became wet as tears forced their way out, falling down onto the cement and making tiny wet spots beneath her. 

Then, her breath hitched, and suddenly, she could no longer breath.

She turned to Adrien desperately, only to find him already kneeling right beside her, gently squeezing her shoulders. She looked at him with fear, trying to fill her lungs with air, only to find herself unable to get more than a mouthful at a time. 

“Hey” Adrien whispered, taking her hand just like he had days prior, once again he put her hand on his chest “just relax, I know you’re scared that something’s wrong” he started, gently covering her hands with one of his own “But don't worry, you’re absolutely fine” he added, reaching around her and pulling her closer “Just try and breath, you’ll be alright” he gave her a small squeeze, moving back only to check on Marinette, her breathing was ragged and harsh, sounding more like someone who had nearly drowned in the Seine than someone standing on a street in Paris “I will never let anything happen to you Marinette, I promise” he stated, looking at her with loving eyes. Then she lurched and wrapped herself around him, her arms trying their hardest to completely circle his chest, only to realize that they weren’t fifteen anymore, no they were far from that time. 

She eventually felt Adrien pick her up, holding her close to his chest as her arms wrapped around his neck tiredly, then they began to walk away, leaving her parents' old bakery behind them. Marinette finally felt exhaustion meet her, her eyes feeling heavy as Adrien carried her in the early morning sun, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Adrien on the other hand was very much so awake, carrying her down the road back towards their apartment.

“Adrien?” a voice asked, the noise coming from just ahead of them. He looked up only to find Sarah standing a little further up the sidewalk. He must have walked further than he thought, either that or he had spaced out and walked almost all the way back home.

“Oh… hey Sarah” he spoke, not loving the idea of holding Marinette in his arms while a girl who apparently liked him tried to strike up a conversation. 

“Did I intrude on your journey to bury a dead body?” She asked with a small laugh, only for Adrien to look at her with confusion. 

“Huh?” he questioned, then he shook his head as he seemingly understood the joke “No this is my girlfriend” his tone was flat and tired, mostly because he just wanted to lie Marinette on their bed so she could get some proper rest… it also wouldn’t hurt that he could lie down with her to make sure she was ok. 

“And here I was thinking I’d never see your girlfriend” Sarah said with a small laugh, trying to figure out whether or not this girl was the girl her and Anna had been researching all of the previous night. “I almost thought that your girlfriend was an illusion” she teased, finally catching a small glimpse of the small girl's face when she moved to nuzzle into his neck in the middle of a deep slumber, it was definitely the face she had stared at for hours straight the night before. Her face moved back to Adrien who had slightly narrowed eyes, almost as if he was looking inside Sarah. “So, how long have you two been together?” she asked, interrupting his gaze, he still looked at her slightly confused, almost investigating her with his eyes.

“A year in a little bit” he answered, deciding that it was generic enough that he could tell her. 

“That’s nice… Did you guys go to a party or something?” She asked, deciding that now in fact was the best time to ask Adrien these questions. 

“What?” he questioned, then once again he shook his head as if to clear it like an etch-a-sketch. “Yeah… big party” he added as he realized what Sarah was referring to, he began to shift from foot to foot and nudged away from her. 

“Sarah!” he barked, a slight hiss coming from his voice “Now is really not the time!” Adrien growled angrily, not realizing that his tone was bitter and sharp.

“Oh… yeah of course” Sarah whispered, hurt by the tone, even more hurt when Adrien walked away without another word. 

_ Memory _

**_Three weeks after funeral_ **

_ Adrien held Marinette's hand tightly in his own as they began to trudge up the stairs, it was a freezing morning, meaning that everyone decided to gather inside rather than out, which Adrien both preferred and dreaded. He preferred it mostly because it meant that everyone would see Marinette at the same time, but it also meant that she wasn’t going to be bombarded at the front of the school.  _

_ “You’re sure?” Adrien asked, holding a hand against the door. _

_ “Not even the slightest” Marinette sighed, feeling her stomach twist and turn inside of her “But we’re already here... and I really just want to get this over with” she sighed, giving him a small nod.  _

_ Adrien opened the door, being overcome with the warm feeling of the dryly heated school, after a few years of public school the lust died down, but he also knew that it was thousands of times better than homeschool.  _

_ “Marinette!” Alya yelled, breaking Adriens train of thought and charging at them, quickly grabbing Marinette into her arms. Alya spun the girl around, but Marinette clearly wasn’t enjoying the action, a grimace was printed on her face until she was set down, then a smile took over the displeasure. Although there was something off about the smile, it was fake, but most wouldn’t notice it, but it was clear to Adrien, mostly because he used that same smile every time he was modeling.  _

_ It was a fake smile _

_ “Hey Alya” Marinette said, her voice still reserved and small. _

_ “How are you?” Alya asked with a smooth and sympathy filled voice, holding her friend by the shoulders.  _

_ “Oh.. you know” Marinette shrugged, deciding not to speak anymore after that.  _

_ “Oh! Everyone is going to want to say hi to you!” Alya cheered, beginning to pull Marinette towards a crowd looking at Marinette with the same look that Alya had given her. _

_ Pure looks of sympathy. _

_ She quickly looked back to Adrien for help, help that was already on the way.  _

_ “Alya” Adrien called, stopping the pair “I actually need to catch Marinette up on a few things before class starts” he gave Alya a sheepish smile as her’s disappeared.  _

_ “Oh… alright” she whispered sadly, releasing Marinette’s hand and watching the pair quickly walking away. _

_ Current Day _

“Hey Nath” Rose said happily, walking up to the coffee table with Juleka right beside her. 

“Hey girls” he mumbled, still a whispering and quiet mess even though he was currently eighteen. 

“So, what is the famed artist, known as Nathaniel Kurtzberg, doing these days?” Juleka questioned as she and Rose took a seat at the small table. 

“Oh.. you know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that” he shrugged with a sheepish smile. 

“You better have some work to show us” Another girl commented as she walked in, taking the final empty seat. 

“Hey Chloe” Nathaniel stated, still hushed. The truth was, after a while Chloe realized that she couldn’t be so stuck up anymore, whatever had happened, or whatever it was, she decided that it was time to end the spoiled brat routine. Who knew what it was, but many assumed that it was when Ladybug took away the Bee Miraculous, mostly because after that she realized that her attitude had ruined her chances at one of the only things she wanted so direly. 

“So, what were we talking about?” Chloe questioned, looking between the three. 

“Well as you said, we all really want to see some of your work” Rose stated excitedly “So come on and show us already!” she demanded. 

“Fine fine” Nathaniel replied happily, turning around and pulling out a sketchbook from his canvas messenger bag. He passed it to Juleka, who was positioned in between the two other girls. She held it up so all three could look at the perfectly drawn pictures. Most of them were very similar to each other, or at least contained a similar subject. 

“This girl seems really familiar” Juleka commented, looking towards Nathaniel with a bit of confusion, and even more suspicion “I mean, like really familiar” she added, staring at the page of a girl, lying on some sort of well drawn and glossy fabric, a small smile on her face and beautiful blue eyes. 

“That’s sort of why I wanted to get into contact with all of you” Nathaniel sighed, scratching his neck awkwardly, he tried to continue, but words did nothing to help, instead they only fell limply in his throat. 

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow. Nathaniel took one deep breath and turned to the trio, finally regaining the ability to speak. 

“I want to get in contact with Marinette”

**As always, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated, I take each and everyone to heart.**


End file.
